Russian Roulette
by KelsieLorraine
Summary: Damon, the 30 year old ruthless world renowned casino owner with a low tolerance for stealing, Elena, the 23 year old mystery woman that catches his eye and leaves him speechless. Each of them only looking for a good time, but what happens when desire and lust turns into more? And what happens when the past becomes the present? AU/AH Delena and Smut.
1. Chapter 1

This idea popped into my head when I went to the casino for the first time yesterday. I wasn't sure how it would pan out, but when I sat down and started writing, it all came out naturally. I hope you enjoy it!

Also many thanks to Layla Reyne for editing this and adding input, if you guys haven't checked out her story 'The Left Coast' you definitely should because it is amazing.

* * *

Damon Salvatore took in his appearance in the mirror. His black hair was combed back neatly, his face was clean-shaven. The tailored suit he wore was freshly pressed, his dark blue tie ironed to perfection. He took pride in his appearance; he wasn't ashamed to admit it. As the owner of one of the most well-known and best casinos in the United States, it was only fitting that he looked the part.

Damon and his younger brother had taken on the casino together once their father died. The bastard had nearly run their family legacy into the ground when he'd started drinking. It was honestly a miracle the boys had managed to save it at all. Now, it was five years later and the casino had never been better.

Damon and Stefan were two completely different people, running two separate parts of the casino. Stefan was a math genius, but he was also shy. He had never been a people person, so he mainly stuck to the financial and business aspects of the casino. Damon, on the other hand, took care of the guests, the good and the bad. _Especially _the bad. Damon had no tolerance for cheating of any kind. It was no surprise that at least once a night he caught someone counting cards.

For the most part, he just kicked the cheaters out, banning them for life. There were some cases, however, where the person he'd caught took a lot of money. In those cases, Damon always took them to what was known as 'the back room'. In there, he made sure they would never step foot inside a casino and cheat, ever again.

That was another reason his baby bro worked behind the scenes. Stefan couldn't stomach the violence, whereas Damon didn't even blink if it was necessary for him to beat someone to a pulp.

"Uh, sir?" a gangly sounding voice called, breaking Damon out of his thoughts.

"What?" he snapped. He smiled when he heard a small squeak. He loved fucking with the new people, especially Anthony. He was so skittish.

"Mr. Klaus sent me up here to report to you," Anthony stuttered out.

"Alright then, report."

"He said all is clear on the game floor, but there is suspicious activity at Black Jack table five."

"Good work, Anthony. Make sure to stay on the floor and tend to the guests." _It's show time_, Damon added to himself with a mischievous smile. He grabbed his walkie-talkie, securing it on his belt, before heading out of his hotel room and to the gaming floor.

When Damon and Stefan brought the casino back to life, they also did the same thing for the hotel that was attached to it. Savior Casino Resort was a family oriented hotel, making it extremely popular for vacations, but it was also popular with people on business trips or attending conventions. The lobby of the hotel was unique in itself for the fact that it had a pond with trees and alligators in it. It was a big hit with the kids, and not many other places could actually say they had anything like it.

"About time mate," Klaus said once Damon had made it to the floor. "You're worse than a girl in the bathroom," he joked, earning a chuckle from Elijah, Mason, and Tyler.

"What can I say, I've got to look good for my guests," Damon smirked. "How is the black sheep?" Damon questioned, looking over at black jack table five.

"He wouldn't be more obvious if he had on a pink wig and a clown nose. I've got Matt going over recent camera footage." Klaus explained.

Damon snarled knowing exactly what that meant. Someone had recognized this particular cheater, meaning it wasn't the first time he'd been in the casino. One of the things that made Damon absolutely livid was a thief that returns to steal some more._ Oh yeah_, his hands were going to get bloody tonight.

"I'm going to make my rounds, do a little meet and greet. Call me if Matt finds anything." Without waiting for a reply, Damon walked off. If he stood there any longer, nothing would be able to stop him from beating the shit out of the mother fucker that was stealing from him. He put on his most dazzling smile and began making his rounds.

"Mrs. Culpepper, you're looking lovely tonight," Damon said kissing her hand.

"Oh Damon," she laughed. "You're always such a sweet boy."

"Not to everyone," he teased the elderly regular.

"Mr. Martin, great to see you here again. Attending another business conference?"

"Of course, I swear these bastards are going to kill me; and if they don't, my wife will."

"Well here's to hoping you score the big bucks tonight and buy your wife something pretty. Marcus!" he greeted shaking a heavy set Italian man's hand. "I hear the police are trying to close in on your business yet here you are, gambling like you don't have a care in the world."

"You know me Damon," Marcus replied with a laugh.

"Damon my boy," Victor, another Italian man greeted "How's life? Aren't you married yet?"

"Nope, still single as can be," Damon joked.

"You aren't going to be young and pretty forever, boy. You might want to step up your game."

"Well who says I want to be married?" Damon said a little defensive.

"Ah ha," Victor laughed, patting Damon on the back. The irony of the conversation was that at that very moment, the one person that would change Damon Salvatore's life completely was seated at the bar. When he noticed her, he didn't think twice before leaving the guest he was talking to then, and making his way towards her, having eyes and ears only for the beautiful stranger at his bar

"I've never seen your pretty face here before," Damon flirted taking a seat next to her. Flirtation had always been a natural talent of his, a gift, given to him upon birth.

"That's because my pretty face hasn't been here before," the girl countered without so much as a glance up.

"The name is Damon Salvatore," he introduced himself in a husky voice.

"Oh," the girl replied, still not looking at him. Instead, she was looking into her pocket-sized mirror that was sitting on the counter.

"And your name is?" Damon asked, trying to get something out of her.

"Not important," she replied simply.

"Aw well that's not fair. I gave you my name," he teased.

"A name I didn't ask for," she replied rolling her eyes. Finally she turned to him. Her beauty knocked the breath out of him. She stood up, reaching for his hand to shake, and pulled him closer, cheek to cheek.

"There is a card counter at each one of your black jack tables except table five. They are communicating back and forth with each other by taping in Morse code with their chips on the tables. To the untrained eye, it may seem like they are nervously waiting, but to people like us, it's clear they are robbing you blind. The man you've been watching at table five is a distraction; the thief at that table is the dealer." She paused, pulling back to meet his startled eyes. "It was nice to meet you Damon Salvatore," she whispered, kissing his cheek before turning around and walking off.

For the first time in his life, Damon was completely and utterly stunned by a woman. Usually it was him that caused jaws to drop and eyes to widen with just a simple smirk, but not this time. This time he was completely awestruck by a woman whose name he didn't even know. He wanted her. He _needed _her.

He'd barely gotten a word out of her and it drove him crazy. He wanted her to be his. He wanted to possess every inch of her, worship her body inside and out. He growled at the thought of her underneath him, her long brown hair fanned out against his pillow, her dark brown, lust-filled eyes watching him as his icy blue ones focused on her, their finger intertwined.

In the most basic terms possible, Damon Salvatore was fucked.

* * *

"I'll be damned," Klaus said, watching the cameras. "She was right, they are completely robbing us." Every set of eyes were on the security cameras as the mystery woman's claim was proven true. Damon was absolutely livid. All he could see was red.

"Klaus grab the counter on one, Mason counter on two, Matt counter on three, Tyler counter on four, and Elijah grab the dealer and distraction on five. Bring them to the back room." No one dared say anything as Damon left the security room, they knew better than to stand in his way.

As discretely as Damon's men could, each one grabbed the culprits they were assigned and hauled them to the back room. No one said anything as the terrified men were dragged to the room they'd heard so many horrible things about. No one steals from the Salvatore's; everyone knew that if you got caught, then having the ever-living crap beat out of you, was to be expected. If you ran to the police the second you were released, the cops would just turn their backs on you because even they knew what an idiot you were for attempting to pull one over on the Salvatore's. They had the power, they had the money and with that, they had the loyalty.

Each man was thrown into a chair and blindfolded quickly. "I'm curious what exactly makes you think you can come into my casino and steal from me?" Damon hissed. His question was met with silence.

"What? No one wants to say anything? You can tap it out in Morse code if you'd like. A plan like this doesn't just develop last minute. No, a heist like this is planned out which makes me even angrier. You guys have been at the black jack tables all night, racking up almost a thousand of dollars _my _money each, and to make it even better one of my own trusted employee's was part of this. So, now that everyone is caught up, what am I going to do with you all?"

"Fuck you!" one of the men hissed. _Bad move._

"You know, I think I'll pass. I would love to get fucked, but my eyes are on someone else tonight. Thank you though," and with that, Damon reeled back his fist and punched the man in his jaw so hard that several teeth flew out and blood splatted on his fist and onto the floor. "You guys are in for a long night," Damon laughed, popping his fist and swinging at the man again.

No one fucks with the Salvatore's. **No one.**

* * *

Damon was washing his hands in the bathroom, trying to get the rest of the blood off of his knuckles. He felt a little better after laying into the fuckers that tried to steal from him, but he was still agitated. How could he have been so blind? It was an entire set up and he missed it completely. He fell for the fucking distraction. No wonder it was so obvious he was cheating.

After beating the shit out of several of the culprits, one of them finally fessed up to the plan. They were banking on Damon to pull the distraction to the back room while the rest of them made off with his money. If it hadn't been for the mystery woman at the bar, Damon would have been conned by them.

"Hope that isn't your blood you're washing off, ace," a familiar voice said. Damon looked up from the sink. His eyes widened as he saw _her_ in the mirror. She had a seductive smile on her face as she watched him cleaning the blood off of his hands.

"Would it scare you off if I told you that it wasn't my blood, but the blood of the six men I just beat the shit out of?" Damon asked bluntly.

"Not many things scare me Mr. Salvatore, not even that. I knew exactly what you were going to do when I told you about the men stealing from you; and I knew it wouldn't be pretty when you had your top guys grab each man."

"You saw that?" he questioned while watching her intently through the mirror.

"I see everything." Her confidence was one of the things that pulled Damon in, as was her arrogance.

"Interesting," he said, turning around. "I could use eyes like yours around this place."

"Is that a job offer?" Her eyebrow rose arrogantly, as if the mere idea of working for him was absurd.

"If I said yes…" Damon trailed off.

"I would probably laugh and ask why you are offering me a job."

"I assumed that's why you told me and why you stuck around to talk to me once I was finished taking care of business." Even to Damon, that'd sounded lame.

"Oh, is that what you think?" There was that arrogance again.

"Why else would you be here?" Damon questioned. He was watching her every move like a hawk. He could feel the urge to take her against the bathroom wall raging inside him, so imagine his surprise when her answer turned out to be a mirror of his own desires.

"I was hoping you would take me up to your hotel room and fuck me senseless."

Damon's eyes darkened and a growl erupted from his chest. In the blink of an eye, he had his mystery woman, whose name he still did not know, slammed against the door of the bathroom. His lips devoured hers as her hands found their way into his hair. Their tongues clashed and battled for dominance.

"I've been thinking about you since you non-stop left me at the bar," he mumbled against her neck.

"You know what they say," she moaned "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Now as much as I'd love to be fucked against a door, I'd rather be in a more private location," she whispered seductively. "You know, so I can scream your name as loud as I want without the fear of being interrupted."

Before anything else could be said, Damon was pulling her out of the bathroom and heading towards the elevators. "Klaus! I'm done for the night," he said, tossing Klaus the set of skeleton keys. "Don't bother me unless the place is burning down." And with that Damon continued to pull the girl towards the elevator. Klaus just smirked at them, before heading out to the floor.

"The things I am going to do to you," Damon mumbled while sucking her neck.

"You sure are cocky, I hope you don't disappoint," she whispered, roaming her hands over the places of his body she could reach, while pinned between the lift's wall, and what felt like another aroused wall of hot, hard-muscle.

"Oh I never disappoint baby." It was Damon's turn to show his confident, arrogant smile, being pretty sure of his skills in the sack.

"We'll see, ace," she giggled. After what seemed like an hour later, the elevator stopped on the top floor. "I guess I should have known you'd have the penthouse, since you do own the place."

"If you're going to live, live in style," Damon joked, tugging on the collar of her shirt.

"If you're going to fuck, fuck wild," she whispered, cupping his very obvious erection. Damon groaned, slamming her hard into the door of his penthouse.

"Do that again and I will fuck you senseless in this hallway," he warned, thrusting his hard member into her thigh, earning a delicious moan from her.

"You promise?" she smirked before standing on her tippy toes and licking his lips. Damon growled, quickly pulling out his room key. Once the door was open, she gripped his collar and crashed her lips against his. The pair stumbled into the room, banging against the walls, knocking stuff over, neither one of them caring at the moment.

"Nice place, ace. I'm thinking we can start on the bed and go from there," she moaned as Damon took her clothed nipple in his mouth, slightly biting onto it.

"What do you mean 'go from there'?" He was blinded by the intense lust he felt for this mystery woman.

"I _mean_ I want you to fuck me on every surface of this apartment, starting with your bed," she whispered huskily, fondling his penis through his pants, feeling it grow harder.

"You little vixen," he hissed, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her to the bedroom. Clothes flew in every direction as the two strangers clawed at each other and collapsed on the bed. Damon grasped her nude breast, squeezing hard and he was rewarded with a loud moan that echoed through the penthouse.

"I see you like it rough," she said while nibbling on his neck, making sure to leave _her_ mark on him. Damon didn't mind being branded as her property, seeing as he wanted to do the very same thing to her. So he traveled up her body, until he reached her neck, biting hard into it. He bit so hard, that he broke the skin, a few droplets of blood pouring out of it. In a moment of total inhibition, he licked the blood off of her neck, moaning at the taste that was only _her_.

"The way I see it, rough and fast is the _only _way to fuck," he groaned, grinding his hard member into her core, her blood still fresh on his lips. In that moment he kissed her, sharing her delicious taste. They moaned into that hot, bloody, wet, open-mouthed kiss, the both of them wild with the rich liquid, feeling as if they could climax just from that one kiss. Honestly, he had never, in his entire life, experienced such an erotic act. It was far more intimate than actual sex.

"You don't believe in making love?" she questioned softly after they broke apart.

"I don't believe in love," he said without blinking. She smiled, licking her blood off her lips as he did the same, her eyes darkening with pleasure.

"Finally, a man after my own heart," she teased.

"Well, good," he smirked, slightly relieved that she wasn't going to be one of those one night stands turned stalker type chicks. "Now that that is covered, I need a condom," Damon said, leaning on his knees to get up.

"I'm on birth control," she said quickly. "Besides, I want to feel all of you, with nothing in the way," she groaned, pulling him back on top of her. His hard member pressed against her opening.

"What's your name?" he asked. She smiled before kissing his lips softly.

"I have many names, but you can call me Elena."

"Elena," he smiled. It suited her. "Well Elena, prepare yourself because I've got moves you've never seen." And with that Damon thrust into her.

* * *

**What do you think? It's a new idea that I've been toying with and I am really happy with the results so far and I hope you guys are too! As always, please review and you can also follow my stories and me on twitter, tumblr, and even add me on Facebook if you'd like.**

**Twitter: KelsieLorraine **

**Tumblr: ElenaGilbertWarriorQueen**


	2. Chapter 2

First of all, I just want to thank everyone for the amazing and encouraging reviews. I can't express how grateful I am to everyone who took the time to read and review. I've posted some information below that I wasn't able to include in the chapter:

The name of the hotel is Savior Casino Resort.

Damon and Stefan are the owners; Stefan is also the head of the accounting department.

Klaus and Elijah are Gaming Managers. Gaming managers oversee the casino's gaming operations on a larger level. Responsibilities include formulating the casino's gaming policies for the areas they direct.

Elena and Tyler are gaming supervisors, which are also referred to as "pit bosses". They supervise gaming tables and casino staff in an assigned area of the floor. They also specialize in customer service on the floor, hearing and resolving patron complaints, explaining house rules, and possibly planning and organizing activities on the floor.

Matt and Mason are surveillance officers. They are the ones who really pay close attention to the players to make sure no one is cheating.

Damon and Elijah are 30, Klaus is 29, Stefan, Mason, and Matt are 27, Tyler is 25, and Elena is 23.

I plan on bringing Katherine, Rebekah, and Jeremy in for sure. I am not sure about anyone else just yet.

Enjoy!

* * *

The first thing Damon Salvatore noticed when he woke up, other than the bright sun burning his eyes was that he wasn't in his bed, nor did he have any cloths on. Slowly, he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. His hotel room was trashed. Chairs were knocked over, pictures that were once on the wall were lying broken on the floor, and the entire apartment looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.

The second thing he noticed was that he was face down on the floor as naked as the day he was born, and the third and final thing he noticed was that he was completely alone. "Elena?" he said sitting up. He received no response. Maybe it was his huge ego, or maybe his cocky arrogance, either way he couldn't help but think there was no way _Elena_ left _him_. No one night stand ever snuck out on him, he always snuck out on them…or kicked them out.

Damon grabbed the blanket that lay on the floor nearby and wrapped around his waist before heading to the bathroom. _She's probably taking a shower_, he thought. _Maybe I'll join her…before kicking her out._

The bathroom was empty, the bed room was empty, the kitchen was empty, and the _entire_ penthouse was empty. Damon was in disbelief. She left him. She left him naked and on the floor. Was this what it felt like to the women he ditched? Last night was utterly mind blowing. Honestly, the best sex he'd ever had and that's saying a lot because he's has a lot of sex. Elena impressed him, she never grew tired, and she actually had moves that he has never seen before. It would be a lie if he said he didn't want to continue their adventures this morning, even though he still planned on kicked her out. _One for the road_, he thought idly.

_Maybe I can track her down?_ He thought.

_"You don't believe in making love?" she questioned softly after they broke apart. Honestly, she had never, in her entire life, experienced such an erotic act. It was far more intimate than actual sex._

_"I don't believe in love," he said without blinking. She smiled licking her blood off her lips, and watched as Damon did the same, his eyes darkened with pleasure._

_"Finally, a man after my own heart," she teased._

Her words from last night played in his head. She was just like him, in it for the sex. He knew that last night, but he didn't believe it…until now. Now that he was alone, naked and turned on in his penthouse. He felt anger well up inside of him. Lord, help the soul that was caught cheating tonight because Damon Salvatore was on a rampage.

* * *

"You clearly had a late night last night," Klaus smirked as Damon walked off the elevator.

"I don't want to talk about it," Damon snapped. The more he thought about it, the more anger he felt.

"Was it bad?" Klaus questioned. _I doubt it was_ he thought to himself.

"What did I just say?" Damon hissed, his fist clinching by his side.

"In the years I've known you, you've _never_ been this hostile after sex, no matter how crappy, so how about you tell me what happened." Klaus pushed, standing his ground and staring Damon down. He was one of the few people who didn't fear Damon. He was also the closest thing to a best friend Damon had. "I'm waiting," Klaus added after a moment of silence.

"Fine. It was amazing, the best sex I've ever had. You happy?" Damon growled glaring at him.

"No, because 'the best sex of your life' doesn't lead to this hostility unless…" Klaus trailed off as realization dawned on him. "She left you didn't she?" _He's not going to be too happy when he finds out where she is…_

Damon didn't reply. The answer was all over his face. "Oh man," Klaus laughed. "This is rich. This is karma you know that right? All the women you've left or kicked out, eventually it were going to catch up with you."

"You're not helping. Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be running the floor?"

"Oh yeah, I wasn't sure when you were coming down so I was coming to see you," he said, adverting his eyes. Damon picked up on it.

"Why?" he asked crossly. "What happened?"

"Your mystery woman…you offered her a job?" Klaus watched as Damon's face tensed and his eyes narrowed. _Oh yeah, he is going to be pissed when he finds out_ Klaus thought.

"Yeah, before I left last night when I thought that was why she informed me of the set up at the black jack table and waited for me to finish with those morons. It was before I knew why she really waited. Why?" He questioned suspiciously.

"Because she sort of showed up for work…" Klaus said quickly.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Damon ground out. Klaus could literally see Damon's face turning red.

"About an hour ago, she walked in like she owned the place. Said you offered her a job last night. We didn't think twice about it because of what she did…"

"Where is she?" he hissed.

"Well…she uh…you see.."

"Klaus! Where is she?"

"In your office," In that moment, Damon Salvatore snapped. Furious, he stormed towards his office. Klaus didn't follow, not wanting to witness what was about to happen.

Damon burst into his office only to see _her_ sitting on the edge of the desk on the phone. Lust flared up but he refused to let his lust overcome his anger. Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as he tried to ignore her pencil tight skirt and her fuck me heals, her body-hugging jacket, her hair pulled up in a bun, and the fact that she looked like a naughty school teacher, he slammed and locked the door and closed the blinds. He didn't want to be interrupted.

"Of course Mr. Calloway, we are excited to see you. Yes I sure will. Alright, see you on the 23rd. Bye." Elena hung up the phone and turned her attention to the very outraged man in the office. "Evening ace, I was wondering when you'd get her," she smirked. He watched as she wrote something in the planner where he put the big events. That made him angrier. Who did she thing she was, waltzing in here like she runs this fucking place?

"Who do you think you are?" He hissed walking over to where she was standing.

"Elena Gilbert, your new gaming supervisor," she said, her cocky side flaring its head again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked rudely.

"Well, you did offer me a job."

"Before you fucked me and left me."

"What you're telling me you've never snuck out of a one night stand?" Elena holding her ground, she wasn't the kind of girl you neither pushed around nor was she the type to get intimidated easily.

"That's not the point," Damon hissed while towering over her.

"Then what _is_ the point Mr. Salvatore. Your ego get too bruised?"

"The point is that the job offer was revoked. Get. Out." He snapped.

Elena's eyes narrowed. "Fine, let me just call Mr. Calloway back, inform him that I won't be here to handle his reservation. Wouldn't want him show up expecting something that he isn't going to get." Elena growled while picking up the phone.

"Wait," Damon said slightly panicked. "Calloway as in Richard Calloway? You managed to convince him to come to this hotel? But doesn't he normally-"

"Go to the Belmont? Yep, but I can be very persuasive," she smiled at him while dialing the number. Damon took the phone away from her and slammed it down. He pinned her against the desk.

"Elena, don't be like that; I'm sure we can work something out." He said seductively doing the eye thing that makes most women swoon. Elena, however, seemed unfazed.

"Oh? So now you want to 'work something out'" She said sneering.

"I am reassessing," he said huskily.

His body was pressed against hers, their breathing was heavy. "You know ace," she whispered playing with his tie. "It was hard to leave you this morning, I was hoping for a repeat performance, but I had some things to take care of."

"You're on dangerous ground Elena," Damon said lifting her up to where she was sitting on his desk and he was in between her legs. His obvious erection pressed into her center.

"Oh," she mumbled, unbuttoning his shirt. Damon wrapped his hands into her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. It was hungry, needy, much like the ones last night. It was strange, how one minute Damon's anger was uncontrollable and the next, it was completely gone, replaced with need and lust.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard," Damon mumbled against her lips.

"Good," she replied simply. Elena quickly worked on undoing his belt and unbuttoning his pants. She used her feet to pull his pants and boxers down before pulling him against her. He quickly tore her underwear off before thrusting inside her.

"Fuck," Damon moaned as her walls gripped him.

"Harder ace," she groaned as he began thrusting. "So good," his hands gripped her waist as her hands clawed his chest.

"Hmm baby, you feel so good. God, I'm not going to last long,"

"Then don't, let me feel you," she whispered. Their breathing became unsteady; his thrust became fast and uneven.

"Oh fuck!" Damon moaned.

"Damon!" Elena screamed. Together they reached their peaks. "Mhmm…" Elena said as Damon kissed up and down her neck. "I could get use to this,"

"Yeah, me too," Damon whispered. The two were broken out of their world by a knock on the door.

"Damon," Stefan called from the other side of the door. "There are some upset guests in the bar and one of them is demanding you."

"Fuck," he whispered. "Back to work," he kissed her lips before pulling out of her and fixing his cloths.

When Damon got to the bar, the problem had escalated. Victor, Marcus, and the rest of their gang were in a huge altercation with another group of guest at the bar. They were screaming, face to face, nose to nose. Damon could see Elijah trying to keep the peace but it wasn't working. Nothing he said or did would calm the group down. Damon wasn't an idiot; he knew who checked into his hotel. Victor was the leader of a very elite Italian Mafia and the guest he was in an altercation with was Seamus, the leader of the biggest Irish mafia on the west coast, and his group.

"Stefan, go get Klaus, Mason, Tyler, and Matt. Tell them to get here pronto." Stefan nodded before disappearing out of the bar. Damon turned to look at Elena who was staring intently at the group of men. A sudden rush of protectiveness for her safety flooded through him. "Elena, maybe you should stand back, I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire," Damon said quietly not exactly sure where this concern for her wellbeing was coming from.

"Are you kidding? This is my first night; I'm not missing all the excitement." Elena smiled and turned towards the group.

"Elena!" Damon called, but it was too late, she was already half way towards the group. She noticed two groups of women on either side of the bar, watching the group of men with fear in their eyes. She didn't need to be a genius to figure out it was a date gone awry. She reached over the bar and grabbed a bottle of tequila before throwing it against the wall, successfully grabbing everyone's attention.

"I'm not exactly sure what started all this nor do I care. Things are going to play out in one of two ways. You guys are going to try and prove who is more macho, throw a few punches, break a few noses and spend a night in jail while your girlfriends relish in the anger of having their romantic evening foiled by a pissing contest. Now a night in jail isn't to terrible bad, but if I were the woman that had to bail you out, celibacy would be the top word in my vocabulary," Damon stared at Elena in amazement as she stood on the bar and handled the situation like a pro. He was so caught up in it he didn't even notice Stefan return with the guys. "The second way this could turn out is you can take this money," she said pulling a hundred out of her pocket, buy a few shots for your ladies, and finish your dates without any blood or jail. Everyone goes home happy. It's up to you guys."

Silence, that is what fell upon the bar filled with angry people. Every set of eyes were one Elena, most held shock and surprise, several held admiration and respect. Victor was the first one to move. He held his hand up to Elena to help her down. She smiled and took it. Before she could make a move, Seamus also offered his hand. Together they helped her down. "I knew there was a gentlemen side to you guy," she said offering them the hundred.

"Keep it," Victor said before turning his attention back to Seamus. "My apologies, we will be on our way."

"You don't have to leave," Seamus said. "I'm sure we can be civil." He offered Victor his hand, in which Victor shook it. "Alright then," he replied. "As for you _bello_," he said addressing Elena. "Thank you for stopping out stupidity.

"You're welcome," Elena smiled. Each group went their own way, leaving Elena leaning against the bar smiling.

"Damon my boy," Victor greeted. "Terrible sorry for this inconvenience, it won't happen again." He said offering his hand.

"As long as no one was hurt we are okay," Damon replied taking his hand and shaking it.

"I like her," Victor said seriously. "She has fire, she's strong and smart and not afraid of standing up to someone. Hold on to her." Damon nodded as Victor turned to head back to his group.

"I'll be on the floor," Elena smiled walking past Damon like she didn't just come face to face to two of the most feared Mafia families on the west coast.

"Holy shit," Mason said. "That girl has some huge balls bro,"

"Yeah she does," agreed Tyler. "She handled herself, definitely not a damsel in distress."

"She will be a refreshing addition to the casino," Elijah said.

"That she will," Klaus approved smiling at Damon.

"She's kind of hot," Matt said which earned a growl from Damon.

"Stay away from her Matt. She is _mine,_" he hissed. "Get back to your stations," he said with finality before leaving them standing in the bar. Stefan followed his brother out.

"Are you two dating?" Stefan questioned.

"Fuck buddies are hardly dating," Damon laughed.

"A fuck buddy is an improvement for you. I don't think you've ever slept with someone more than once let alone multiple times in one night and the next day.

"What's your point Stefan?" Damon asked bored.

"Just that you may like her more than you are letting on," Stefan said with a shrug. "Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, you deserve to be happy.

"She's a good fuck, end of discussion." Before Stefan could get another word out, Damon turned and walked away.

* * *

It was a busy night at the casino. With two business conventions and preparation for the arrival of Richard Calloway, everyone was running around in a panic. Elena was in charge of everything involving the Calloway stay, as per request of Mr. Calloway himself. Richard Calloway seemed to be extremely smitten with Elena, which wasn't an uncommon thing.

Ever since she started, she's had every guest, men, women, and children, fall for her charm. She was feisty; she was clever, and always professional at work. Even with the sexual tension she felt when she was around Damon she remained calm…until her shift was over and she was free to leave.

She had her own room on the floor below Damon's, but for the most part, she stayed with him. Not because they were dating, but because they were both so exhausted after their rendezvous that they just passed out in bed. Hiring Elena Gilbert was probably one of the best decisions Damon could have made.

"She's a sweet talker," Richard told Damon the one time they talked. "When she called to convince me to come to your hotel, I thought there was no way I would come, but she was so self-confident and persistent. She had me baited and hooked after only five minutes." Richard Calloway was a world class douche bag, so for him to give that kind of compliment for a woman he's only talked on the phone with a few times, was a miracle.

Damon left Klaus and Elijah in charge of running the floor so he could oversee the arrival of Richard Calloway. He was wearing his best suit, his staff was wearing their best uniforms, and for the last month they've been non-stop cleaning the hotel, top to bottom. If Richard Calloway was happy with a hotel, he'd drop a review in a newspaper and suddenly, the hotel was running out of rooms because of the popularity. He would be either the best or the worst thing for this hotel. Everyone was hoping for the best.

Damon spotted Elena talking to one of the bellhops. She was dressed in a perfectly pressed, body hugging grey suit; her hair was down and curly. He could only see her back, but it was still enough to cause his eyes to darken.

The bellhop said something that made her laugh and suddenly this possessive urge, an urge that had become more and more frequent recently, came over him.

"Todd," Damon called. "Enough chit chat, get to work. Go wait for Mr. Calloway!"

"Ye-yes sir Mr. Salvatore," Todd stuttered out. "Goodbye Miss. Gilbert," he said before rushing off.

"What?" Damon questioned. Elena was smirking at him with a knowing look in her eyes.

"You're jealous," she said simply.

"What? No I'm not!" Damon laughed as if the idea was absurd.

"It's okay, I understand. I'd be lying if I said that a bit of jealousy didn't flare up whenever I see some other girl flirting with you," Elena admitted as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Really?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Of course, but I don't say or do anything about it. We've had a good thing going this last month, sex with no strings attached and I can honestly say that it's some of the best sex I've ever had. Why ruin it with the flare up of some silly little emotion." She shrugged.

Damon stood there shocked. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when nothing came out.

"Miss. Elena Gilbert I presume?" A man said loudly walking over to them.

"Mr. Calloway," Elena said brightly. "Pleasure to finally meet you in person,"

"Same here, I must say, you are much more beautiful than I imagined." He kissed her hand softly. "Mr. Salvatore, this is a fine hotel you have here and I'm only in the lobby." He said offering his hand. Damon shook his hand and smiled.

"Thank you Mr. Calloway. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Why don't we get you checked in and I'll bring you to your room."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like Miss. Gilbert to accompany me." Damon was stunned for a moment, not expecting that.

"Uh yeah of course, you'll page me if you need anything?" Damon asked, looking at Elena.

"Yeah," she smiled. "You ready Mr. Calloway?"

"Always," he said suggestively offering his arm, in which Elena took. Damon tried to swallow the jealousy as they walked away, but he couldn't help but glare at the two and clench his fist. He was secretly hoping she would turn around, give him a smile, and silently reassure, but she never turned around.

Damon shook off the feeling that settled within him. He couldn't pin point the feeling, nor did he want to. Damon Salvatore didn't do feelings, he didn't do relationships, or at least that is what he keeps telling himself.

* * *

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Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks you all for the encouraging reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It isn't as long as my chapters normally are, but it's just a filler chapter that is building up to the real drama next chapter.

At the end of the chapter, I've listed the terminology I've used and the definition of each for those of you not familiar with casino slang.

Enjoy and please review!

* * *

Everyone has that moment in life where everything just freezes, a moment where it seems like time stands still yet everything is happening so fast, a moment where you see everything that happens and yet, you cannot comprehend it. A moment that Damon Salvatore experienced as he stared at the cage, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he just stared at the closed door while panic arouse around him.

He wondered if anyone could hear the beating of his heart. It was beating so fast and so loud that he was sure it would burst out of his chest. He was nervous, he was nauseous, his hands were clammy, and he felt as if any moment he was going to pass out. Moment. _Moment. One moment. __**One moment that can change everything. That did change everything. **_**Everything.**

Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard someone calling his name, he saw Klaus's blurry face in front of him. His lips were moving and Damon could feel his hands on his arms, shaking him, but yet he still couldn't move. He could only stare.

"We have to get in there now!" a man yelled. _Get in where?_

"Someone could be hurt, we can't wait any longer!" another man screamed. _Who is hurt?_

"Sir, what are the orders?" a man questioned. _Orders…_

"There is screaming!" a woman shrieked in panic. _Screaming? Why? Why is there screaming? Who is screaming?_

"Damon! Damon! DAMON! Snap out of it!" Snap out of it. Snap out of it. Out of it. _Out of it. __**Out of it…**__Snap out of what?_

"Sir! There are gun shots!" a third man screamed. Everyone was screaming. Everyone was yelling. We need to get in. Break down the door. Hurry.

_It's all my fault…_ Damon thought. _It's all my fault. __**My fault. Mine.**_

"Three…two…one!" the door is down; men with guns are running in. Damon can hear someone crying. He can see one of the men with guns bringing out a distraught elderly woman out of the now open room. She's crying and she's covered in blood. So much blood.

"We need a paramedic in here!"_ Oh god…no. Please._

**So much blood.**

* * *

_10 hours earlier_

"You know, I quite like you in my shirt," Damon mumbled wrapping his arms around Elena's waist and pulling her close.

"You do huh?" she said smiling. They were in Damon's bed, he was propped up against the head board and Elena was straddling him. "Do you like me better in your shirt? Or out of it?" she whispered the second part in his ear before nibbling on it.

"You're trying to make me late aren't you?" he asked huskily.

"I have no clue what you are talking about Mr. Salvatore," she grinned while tracing the lines on his chest.

"Bet you don't," he mumbled. He tightened his grip on her waist possessively. His feelings of jealousy and possessiveness have been growing insanely fast recently. After Elena left with Mr. Calloway, her words played in his head over and over again. She felt jealous too sometimes, but she swallowed her feelings, so Damon knew he had to too. She was just a girl and was just for sex that is what he had to keep in mind.

He told himself that these feelings were caused by their constant sexual relations. Most girls he booted out of bed once they were both satisfied. Elena, as his brother so kindly pointed out, was the only girl that had been in his bed more than once. _A fuck buddy is an improvement for you,_ Stefan told him. Elena had managed to weasel her way into his bed, but he wouldn't let her weasel her way into his heart. He couldn't.

She accepted this fucked up relationship and never once asked for more. A part of Damon respected her for that, but another part, a part that he thought was long gone, wished that she did ask for more. He tried to ignore the disappointment he felt when she didn't ask for more, when she just showed up for sex and nothing more, but sometimes he couldn't. Lately, he found himself wide awake at night, staring at the ceiling while Elena lay asleep beside him.

He found himself thinking a lot during those moments, thinking about his future which was strange for him. As a child, a teenager, or even a young adult he had never once thought about his future and what he hoped to happen, but now, with Elena, it seemed that it was on his mind more and more.

None of it mattered though, he had to swallow his feelings and every day he resented that more and more. He tried to remain indifferent, cold, and sometimes it worked. _Sometimes_. He was tempted, from time to time, to talk to Elena about it, but he was almost positive if he did, then the next thing he would see was Elena's back to him as she left. Losing Elena was not an option. At all. He'd like to say it was just because she was a good fuck, but it was a lie. He was in denial.

"Hey," she whispered softly. "Where did you go?" Her hands were gripping his face softly, her thumbs gently stroking his cheek.

Damon smiled before rolling them over. "Just thinking," he mumbled playing with a piece of her hair.

"Thinking about what?" she inquired. She stared at him through her long brown lashes; her eyes were wide and curious. She looked so innocent and for a second Damon would have believed that she had never done a single bad thing in her life…if he wasn't currently resting in between her legs, completely naked.

"Mmhmm it's not important," he whispered while kissing her neck.

"I-" Elena began but Damon put his finger on her mouth to silence her.

"Shh…" he murmured. "Just lay here with me Elena, enjoy the peace and silence."

Elena smiled before she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. He stayed on top of her, resting between her legs, his head buried in her neck. They almost seemed like a normal couple. Almost.

There were so many hidden truths between them, about them. As close as they were getting, they still barely knew each other. Damon's past wasn't a secret; it was just something he didn't like talking about it. He had a horrible childhood and it angered him to even think about it. Elena didn't trust anyone with her past. She thought if anyone knew what she had been through, knew about the trauma that she had endured that left her mute for damn near two years, that they would drown her in pity and walk on egg shells around her or that they would use the knowledge against her.

Damon's past was the trigger that set him off, that fueled his anger. Elena's past was her Achilles heel, the reason she was so distant with everyone. In a way, a sick and twisted way, perhaps Damon and Elena weren't so different after all.

The pair was broken out of their peaceful moment when Damon's cell phone went off. "Fuck," Damon growled reaching for his phone. "What?" he snapped.

"Damon we have a problem," Elijah stated.

"What is it Elijah?" he inquired as he got up and began getting dressed all the while keeping the phone to his ear.

"Three dealers, two cashier, and a surveillance officer all just quit," he explained. "We are busier than normal and we are shorthanded. Klaus tried to call some people in, but no one is answering."

"So of a bitch," Damon hissed. "I'm on my way." He hung up and turned to Elena, who was sitting up and watching him.

"Elena," he started walking over to her. "I know today is your day off, but I really need your help…" Elena smiled playfully at him.

"Oh? What do you need Damon?" Elena got up and started to gather her cloths.

"Several of the cashiers, dealers, and a surveillance officer just quit. We are busy and shorthanded and no one is answering. Would you be willing to come in for a few hours? Damon could hear it in his voice, Elena could too. He was pleading.

"Okay," she said simply pulling on her shirt. "Let me stop by my room to change cloths and I'll be right down,"

Elena left after kissing Damon on the lips. Once she was gone, he finished getting ready and headed down to the casino, to see the damage. _It's going to be a long fucking night._

* * *

Busy was an understatement. No, the casino wasn't busy, the casino was jam packed and in complete chaos. There wasn't an open chair in the house. Every table and every slot was full; there was a line of people at the cage trying to buy chips, tons of people in the restaurants within the casino. The only empty seats were the seats at the tables where the dealer quit.

"Klaus, what the hell is going on?" Damon hissed once Klaus came into view.

"I don't know mate, everyone just quit at once and then this huge rush of people came in," Klaus explained glancing around.

"Alight well Elena is on her way down to help out. I want all eyes in the sky and I want all extra hands in the pit. There will be sharks swimming tonight," Damon ordered. "I am going to head up to see how Matt and Mason are doing, when Elena gets here, tell her the orders."

"Alright, I'll radio if I need you." Damon rushed up to the surveillance office while Klaus headed out into the pit. Something wasn't right. Damon could feel it, Klaus could feel it, and every employee involved in the chaos could feel it. It was in the air, it was in the voices of the people playing games, and it was in the games themselves. Tonight wasn't simply about cheating, tonight was about something bigger. It's a shame no one realized it until it was too late.

Damon left Matt and Mason to do their job after seeing everything was okay. When he returned to the pit he immediately spotted Klaus, Tyler, Elena, and Elijah making their rounds. For now everything seemed to be fine, but like most things, one second they were fine, the next second all hell was breaking loose.

"D!" Tyler called running up to him. "We have a high tech shark at the craps table, he's making bank." Tyler explained.

"You're sure?" Damon asked seriously, his eyes on the craps tables.

"Positive," Tyler stated with certainty.

"Take care of it." Damon nodded at Tyler, silently telling him that it was okay to do whatever he needed to do. Once Tyler left, Elijah walked up.

"Card counters at every black jack table," he stated.

"You got it?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of it."

"Boss!" Matt said in the radio.

"Speak to me Donovan," Damon stated.

"The bug is picking up abnormal activity at the Roulette tables and the five dollar slot machines," he explained in a hurry. In the back ground he could hear the beeping of the machine that designed to pick up any outside technology that could be used for cheating.

"Alright, call the cops tell them to be on standby, it looks like we have more sharks than we originally thought," he ordered. "Klaus, what do the slots look like?"

"Same guy keeps hitting the jackpot; he's got a big group around him. Something is very off."

"He might have some sort of computer generated device on him, step in there now!" Three of the four biggest games were being cheated at. It wasn't right, but Damon couldn't see past the anger that was growing inside of him. He was out to kill. He turned his eyes to the Roulette tables.

"Red even," a man said.

"Red even," the dealer repeated. "No more bets," and then the dealer spun the ball.

"Big winner!" the dealer said when the ball landed on red even. At first glance everything seemed innocent, but Damon knew something wasn't right. So he did the only he could do. He started to think like Elena. He kept in mind the first night he met her and how she managed to bust an entire group of sharks just by looking in her compact mirror.

Damon examined the man slowly. His eyes traveled up and how his form several times before he saw it. His foot. He would tap it, wait a minute, place the bet, and then win. Tap it, pause, place the bet, and then win.

There was something in his shoe; something helping him, there had to be. Damon felt his pride swell up at being able to spot the subtly cheat.

"Damon!" Elena called to him as he made his way to the roulette table. "Damon, something isn't right," Elena said quickly.

"I know, we have big sharks at the craps table, black jack tables, slot machines, and roulette tables. There might be more so keep an eye out," he explained. He turned to walk away, but Elena stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Damon, I think it's bigger than that. I think all the sharks are distractions," Damon laughed slightly.

"I doubt that Elena, what exactly would they be distracting us from? Cheating at the games is the best way to get money and they weren't as obvious as the man at the black jack table a few weeks ago," he said cockily. His pride was getting the best of him, if only he would have listened.

"Damon do you hear yourself? Set your arrogance and pride to the side and listen to me," Elena tried to reason with him.

"No Elena, I've got this and I am damn proud of it. Stop with the suspicion. Stop trying to stop me. Just because you didn't figure this out doesn't mean you can act like this," Damon snapped. Elena flinched, hurt at his condescending tone.

"You think I'm upset because I didn't figure out the scheme? I could care less. I am trying to help you,"

"Well don't," he growled. Damon didn't realize how much he was bothered him by being shown up by a girl. First with the black jack table scheme, then the bar incident, and now this…he wasn't going to let her show him up again because he knew he was right. He _knew_ it.

"Why are you treating me like this Damon? I am trying to help," Damon could see the pain in her eyes and he could see she was trying to mask it. He refused to be bothered by it. _I have to swallow my feelings_ he thought.

"Because I am _your_ boss and _you_ are _my_ employee. Just because we are sleeping together doesn't mean you can interfere when I am about to do my job. You do not get the glory on this one Elena," he hissed. He didn't give her a chance to reply. He turned and headed toward the roulette table.

Elena stared after him with traitor tears in her eyes. She wiped at them angrily, refusing to let him get to her. She turned to march off when she saw it… saw _her._

Marissa, one of the cashiers that had quit earlier, was using her key to open the door that led to the cage. Several men in suit were behind her. _Oh God…_ Elena thought. She knew exactly what was happening. She turned to Damon, only to see him arguing with the man at the roulette table. Klaus was dealing with the slot machine cheater, Elijah with the black jack cheater, and Tyler with the craps cheater.

They were all distracted, so distracted they didn't notice what was really going on, what Elena had _tried_ to warn Damon of. If he wasn't going to listen, she would take matters into her own hands. Quickly, she turned and rushed over to the now open door that led to the cage.

The men had guns pointed at Greta, the elderly cashier and the only one that was on duty tonight since the other two quit. Everything was making more and more sense. It was all one big set up, one big distraction while the casino was truly robbed of everything.

"Please don't hurt me," Greta pleaded. "I have a family," she cried.

"Open the safe and give me the money and no one will get hurt," the man hissed.

They were in the vault, Greta was surrounded by guns. If she didn't open the safe, she was as good as dead. Elena could see the tears running down her face and her fierce side took over. Greta never hurt anyone, she was always so nice, and how could _anyone_ be able to point a gun at her?

Elena was quick to act. Quietly, she snuck into the cage to one of the registers where a secret white button was located underneath it. This button signaled the police and set off an alarm that would be heard throughout the casino. Elena pushed it and the alarm sounded.

Everything happened so slow and yet so fast at the same time. Everyone froze when the robotic voice came over the sound system. "Code red…code red…this is not a drill."

Damon looked around at everyone as they panicked. It was then he saw Mason running towards him screaming something and it was then that he realized Matt was screaming for him on the radio.

"The cage! Dammit! Check the fucking cage!" Matt yelled. With wide eyes Damon turned towards the cage where he saw Elena. And it was then that he saw the intruder with guns in the vault. His eyes locked with her. He could see the fear within them, an emotion that in the month and a half he's known her, he's never once seen. It made his stomach churn.

She was right and he was wrong. She tried to warn him, but he refused to listen. His pride got the better of him and he probably just cost her her life because of it.

Elena turned to run, but it was too late. Before he could move, before he could blink, one of the intruders grabbed Elena from behind and pulled her in the vault, shutting and locking the door. She was gone, just like that. And it was his fault.

Several gunshots sounded in the room a few seconds after the door was shut causing everyone to go silent.

* * *

**How was it? Let me know what you think! Follow me and my stories on twitter at KelsieLorraine or on Tumblr at ****ElenaGilbertWarriorQueen.**

**Terminology:**

**The Pit-** The area where all the games in the casino are.

**The Cage- **A high security section of the casino where the cashier sells chips.

**Shark-** Another term for cheater

**High tech shark (at the craps table)-** High-tech cheating involves the dice themselves. Some cheats will attempt to slip a pair of altered dice into the game. Loaded die are weighted down on one side to increase the odds of a certain number being rolled. Crooked dice will have certain sides rounded out and others left flat, again to increase the odds of a certain

number.

**Eye in the sky-** Slang for video surveillance cameras in a casino, used to detect cheaters and as a security measure for players and employees, and often hidden in large plastic bubbles in the ceiling and are able to record almost every hand of cards dealt, Also used to view all other areas of casino such as slot machines, etc.

**Inspiration for the ways if cheating:**

**The Roulette Rouge** - This is hands down one of our favorite casino cheating trick stories and surprisingly it happened not too long ago in gambler Laszlo Sendor Kovacs would cheat many a casino by hiding a small computer in his shoe. How did it work? Well, all he had to do was tap the sole of this special shoe right below a casino's roulette wheel and the computer inside his shoe would calculate the wheel's speed and the ball's velocity. That helped him to predict where the ball would land. He managed to cheat one casino in Australia out of a whopping $200,000.00 before he was arrested.

**The Slot Scoundrel** - Way before online online casino games were even a twinkle in anyone's eye, Tommy Glen Carmichael had the reputation of being one of the world's most famous slot game cheats. When it came to casino slot games ,he had it made with a special device that he called the "top-bottom joint" which he used to physically cheat the slot machines. How did it work? Well, he managed to trip the payout switch in the newer electronic slot machines in order to trigger them to release cash and/or add credits. When technology advanced he developed tools that got passed optical sensors and even managed to get passed new technology (called the Actuator Arm) that was specifically developed to deter thieves like him.


	4. Chapter 4

So sorry for the wait! Hope this chapter is worth it. I am not too happy with this chapter but it's better than nothing right?

This chapter and the last chapter and the events that take place are mainly for character growth. The next few chapters I plan to really dive into Damon and Elena's relationship with each other, but also with their friends/family. Several familiar characters will be introduced soon!

* * *

_"The importance of something is seen when it's done. The worth of someone is realized when they're gone, for it'll always be a mystery that we realize the essence when it's already a memory."_

_-Unknown_

* * *

_Panic. __**Panic everywhere.**_ The once calm casino was filled with panicked people of all sorts. The guests that were staying at the hotel were panicking. The people that were in the casino were panicking. The thieves that were involved in the heist were panicking. There was panic everywhere and Damon Salvatore was trying to get a grip on everything while trying to swallow his panic.

_Elena_, she was in there. There was a possibility that she was hurt. Damon's mind was reeling and he could barely think straight. With all the people screaming in fear, with all the noise from the casino itself, with all the cops that were now covering the casino inch by inch…it was all too much, especially with the thought that Elena could be hurt or worse.

Damon Salvatore was about to snap. It was plain and simple. He was at his breaking point. He knew this was different than a simple casino heist. This was much more. Two months ago he would have taken charge, he would have approached the situation with a cold expression on his face, he would have been ruled by the anger he felt towards the idiots that were trying to rob him, and he would have been Damon fucking Salvatore, the ruthless casino owner that wouldn't think twice about beating you down for attempting to steal from him.

It was different now. All he could think about was Elena. All he could see was the fear in her eyes as she realized that by trying to save the casino she ultimately put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. The image of her being pulled into the vault was burned into his memory. All of this was affecting him; it was affecting his ability to be able to control this situation and he honestly wasn't sure what he felt about that. The only thing he could recognize was the shock.

"Mr. Salvatore?" the voice snapped Damon out of his trance. His head snapped to where a man was standing a few feet to his left.

"Yes?" he said gruffly.

"I'm Thomas Martin, the hostage negotiator.

"Oh of course," Damon said shaking the man's hand. "Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked. _Might as well offer, it's better than standing there in a trance like a moron._

"I need to ask you a few questions," Thomas explained. "Do you know who is all in the vault?"

"Uh yeah, one of my cashiers Greta Fell, one of my gaming supervisors, Elena Gilbert, there is one man with a gun for sure, but he is all I saw before the door was closed, and I think one of the cashiers that quit tonight is in there."

"Why do you think that?" Thomas asked while scribbling on a note pad.

"The door that leads into the cage has to be accessed with a code. Each cashier has a different code. I wasn't able to deactivate the codes for the cashiers that quit because of how busy it was and because of all the distractions."

"Do you know which one?"

"Not yet, but my brother is working on finding it out."

"Alright, is there a phone in the vault that we can use for communication?"

"Yeah there is. You can call it from the phone in my office. I'll take you," Damon barely recognized his own voice. It was strained and shaky, which wasn't normal for him. As long as he could remember, when things got rough he always remained calm and collected. As much as he wanted to pretend he didn't know why, he did. It was because of Elena. She had gotten under his skin and as much as he pretended that it was just sex, it wasn't. Not anymore.

Damon Salvatore was a player. He wanted sex with no strings attached. He would kick women out of his bed in the middle of the night if they were acting to clingy. He never thought of the future, he despised the idea of love and marriage, or that is what he was like before Elena came into his life.

He knew it from the night he met her. How she was un-affected to his charm, how she held her ground against him. She didn't let him push her around like the other woman he had been with who would silently and tearfully leave after a passionate night. Elena wasn't like that. Whereas the other women wanted more, Elena did not. She had baffled him at his own game. She left him wanting more and now…now he might never get that chance.

Thomas picked up the phone and dialed the number to the phone in the vault. Silence filled the room as the phone rang. Damon was leaning against the wall, his fist were balled at his side. Stefan was standing next to him awkwardly, not sure what to do to calm his brother down.

Klaus and Elijah stood in the doorway, preventing anyone from seeing inside. Everyone waited as the phone rang…

And rang…

And rang…

"What?!" The voice on the other side said.

"Hello, my name is Thomas Martin, I am the hostage negotiator. May I ask who I am speaking too?" Thomas said calmly.

"Does it matter? I don't have any demands. Everyone in this room is going to die no matter what you offer. Don't call again." The line disconnected. Quickly Thomas tried to call back only for it to ring several times with no answer.

"What is it?" Damon asked noticing the look on Thomas's face.

"We need to get in that room. We are about to have a mass homicide/suicide on our hands," Thomas explained. He tried to keep he voice calm, but Damon picked up on the panic. It was clear that as a negotiator had no problem talking down the person in charge, but from the sound and length of the conversation it hadn't gone the way he wanted.

Damon's stomach churned at the word homicide. The image of Elena, dead and cold, flashed in his mind causing his stomach to churn even more. He rushed to the nearest trashcan before emptying the contents of his stomach.

"Fuck," he muttered whipping his mouth. "What can we do?" he asked Thomas.

"The man in charge of this seems unstable. I will call him back in a minute, give him time to think, but other than that we need to try and remain calm. Evacuate the casino, send everyone to their rooms or home. We are going to try and find a way into that room in case he is uncooperative the next time we call."

"Honestly I don't care what you do, just get my employees out of that room alive," Damon stated seriously. _Get Elena out alive_, he thought.

"I can't promise anything," the negotiator responded. "In situations like this, it's best if you prepare for the worse."

* * *

Elena kept her hand pressed against the bullet wound to try and stop the bleeding, but she was running out of time. If they didn't get out of there soon, they were all going to die.

"I'm cold," Marissa said shivering slightly. She was losing too much blood to fast.

"Shh," Elena whispered. "Try not to think about that. Think of something else, anything else. It's going to be okay,"

"You sound so sure about that," a cruel voice laughed.

"Because I am sure," Elena snapped back, narrowing her eyes at the man.

"You know, even though you fucked up my plan royally, I kind of like you. You've got fire. I mean you're stuck in here with a mad man with a gun and you are covered in someone else's blood but you've yet to show an ounce of fear. I'm not sure if that is incredibly brave or extremely stupid," the man said fiercely.

"I'd like to think of it as being a part of my wonderfully charming personality," Elena replied sarcastically. The man laughed and waved his gun around causing Greta to whimper.

He was about to respond to her sarcasm when the phone rang again. "Fuck," he grumbled. "I thought I was clear last time we spoke _Thomas_,"

"I understand and I apologize. I just don't think you honestly believe this simple misunderstanding is worth your life and the lives of the people in there," Thomas replied smoothly.

"Oh…oh you are good," the man laughed. "I bet you pick up a lot of ladies with your smooth talk. Alright tell me, what are you willing to offer to get the hostages out alive?"

"Well what do you want Mr-"

"James. Just call me James, no mr, I'm not my father," Elena looked at him when he said the word father. He spit it like it was venom.

"Right James, what is it that you want? I'm sure we can work something out?"

"Well obviously I don't want to go to jail, so I want a car, a bus, a plane; honestly I don't care as long as it gets me far away from here. You know a plane would probably be best; it will be faster that's for sure. Of course some money, which I am in a room filled with some so that isn't an issue. Oh! And I will be taking one of the hostages with me as reassurance that you bastards don't try anything. The old lady will be to slow, and the dim wit cashier that allowed us entry is half dead, so I guess I am going to have to take the spit fire that set off the alarm. She seems fun so that's a plus. Call me when the plane is ready." James hung up before Thomas could get another word out.

"Huh…still no fear," James noted.

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of seeing me squirm," Elena narrowed her eyes at the man. She had come close to giving up when she was younger, after the trauma she experienced she gave up on living, on trying. It took the only family she had left to snap her out of it and ever since then she decided that if she was going to go down, she was going to go down with a fight.

Her stubbornness might get her killed, but at least she put up a good fight and got a few punches in there before she went down.

She turned her attention away from the man who was probably going to lead to end of the life. She wasn't going to give him the time of day. Instead she focused on the girl lying next to her. She was losing too much blood, too fast. The chances of her getting out of this room alive were slim. _The chances of any of us getting out of here were almost non-existent_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Damon was in the security room watching the cameras that are located in the vault. There were three men with guns and three hostages in the vault. "We need to get in there soon," Captain Smith said. "One of the hostages looks to be injured badly," he stated as he pointed at the figures on the screen.

Marissa, the cashier who helped accompany the men, was on the floor with a gunshot wound. Elena was holding her, trying to keep the bleeding at bay. Damon was slightly relieved when he saw that it was not Elena who was hurt, as bad as that was to think.

"Thomas, try to get James back on the phone, let him know everything is being set up," the Captain instructed.

"You aren't just going to give him what he wants are you?" Damon asked.

"Of course not, but we need to get him out of there so we can help the hostage that is dying," the Captain explained.

"What about the hostage he plans on taking with him?!" Damon exclaimed.

"Mr. Salvatore I understand you are worried, but you need to calm down. We do this daily and we have this under control. No one else will get hurt on my watch," he stated calmly.

Damon's anxiety didn't calm. It did the opposite. Nothing anyone could have said would have calmed him. He was trying his best to hide it, but it was clear to those closest to him that he was worried. _Very_ worried.

Klaus squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. In all the years he's known Damon, he had seen him as angry as he could be, but never had he seen him so distraught, so anxious. Damon was the most professional, level headed man he knew. And now, he resembled nothing of the clear headed man that he knows.

"James, how's it going in there?" Thomas asked once James picked up the phone.

"Oh fantastic," James said sarcastically. "We're about to start a conga line. How do you think?" he sneered.

"I apologize if my question upset you," Thomas said calmly.

"Yeah yeah I don't care. Where's my stuff?"

"It's getting set up. It will be ready soon."

"Alright well stop calling me unless you can say 'everything is good to go' and then we will work out the details of our departure." Once again James hung up before Thomas could utter another word.

"Well?" the Captain said.

"He's very demanding, he doesn't want us to call again unless everything is 100 percent," Thomas explained.

"We need to find a way in that room. Mr. Salvatore, the door of the vault, what is it made of?" the Captain turned his attention towards Damon expectantly.

"It's just wood with some locks on the other side. There is another door in the room leading to all the cash. That door is made of steel, it's almost unbreakable. If they go in that room, kicking down the door will be useless."

"Alright people we are going to do this quick and quiet. We need to get into that room," the Captain and his team gathered around the monitors, studying the layout of the room and coming up with a plan. If only they knew the events that would take place within the next five minutes. They might have hurried.

* * *

"So what's the deal with your father?" Elena questioned nonchalantly.

"What?" James asked sharply.

"When you said 'father' earlier, you spit it like it was poisonous. I was merely curious what the deal was," she elaborated completely un-phased by his sharp tone and his menacing glare.

"Curiosity killed the cat you know," he taunted.

"Good thing I'm not a cat," Elena countered.

"Oh sweetheart, you and I are going to have so much fun together. I can't wait," he raised his eyebrows suggestively causing Elena to roll her eyes.

"Great, can't wait either. But you never did tell me what the deal with your father was,"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Just curious," she shrugged.

"How about this, if you can tell me why I would tell you, someone who probably had a perfect childhood and a perfect life with the perfect parents, and maybe even a perfect sibling or two, my life story and it's a good reason, then I'll tell you."

"My life is far from perfect," Elena laughed bitterly. "Just because I don't go around attempting, poorly I might add, to rob casinos doesn't mean my life is any easier than yours."

"I have a hard time believing that," James laughed. "My father's favorite hobby when I was growing up was using me as a punching bag. I've been on my own since I was 16. Your life is not even comparable to mine in the terms of who had it harder," James snapped. And just like that, the façade that he had in place since the moment he walked into the casino broke. Elena could see it; maybe it was because of the trauma she endured as a child, maybe it was just because she was perceptive. Either way she could see it.

"No I guess not," Elena stated standing up. Greta took over putting pressure on the gunshot wound. "My parents never abused me, quite the opposite actually. They _were _the best parents in the world; they loved my siblings and myself and would do anything for us. And your right, my childhood was perfect, at least until I was seven and watched both my parents die only a few weeks apart,"

James turned and looked at her suddenly seeing in her what she saw with him. "A few years after they died my older brother and sister disappeared. I didn't see them again until I left my broken home and searched them out. Let's just say that neither of them is in the best condition. So don't tell me that our lives aren't comparable," Elena hissed.

The two were standing close. Both of them so caught up in the heated discussion that they didn't notice one of the other men, Travis, walking towards them. Without even blinking Travis put the gun to James' temple and pulled the trigger. Greta began to scream in hysteria. Elena just stood there, in shock. Her entire face and chest was covered in blood.

"Sorry about that," Travis said simply. "But that idiot was getting on my last nerve. He was way too emotionally unstable, not the smartest thing to be when robbing a casino." Travis handed Elena a tissue, but she made no move to take it. She stared at James' body on the floor, trying to formulate a plan. Travis just shrugged, reached down and grabbed the gun that was still in his hand and turned away from her.

"Alright, we will start collecting the money. When they call and tell us everything is okay, we will leave with the money and the girl. Once we are in the clear, we will release the girl and live out our fortune," Travis explained to the other man in the room.

Elena remained frozen as her eyes continued to drift up and down the body. She was looking for something, praying it was there. Praying that James had a second gun hidden, it was their only way out.

When her Uncle John discovered that she was moving half way across the country, he freaked. For all intents and purposes Elena was his child; he and his wife Isobel had raised her as their own after her parents death. John decided quickly that he would give her lessons in fighting and how to aim and shoot a gun for emergencies. At the time she thought it was stupid, but now she thought it was the best thing he could have done for her.

_Please be there, please be there, please be there._

Her eyes zeroed in on the bump on his back. It was barely visible and unless you looked for it, you wouldn't have seen it. She looked up to see that Travis and the other accomplice had their backs to her. Slowly, quietly, Elena bent down and grabbed the gun.

The events unfolded quickly. _You can do it. Take a breath. __**Pull the trigger.**_

"_If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have the gun, where you have the power, you need to remain calm. Panicking won't help. If you panic, whoever you're facing will jump on that weakness. You have to be cold, you have to be deadly. Just pull the trigger,"_ Uncle John's voice filled her head.

_You have to be __**cold**__. You have to be __**deadly**__. Just pull the __**trigger**__._

Elena took a breath, she didn't blink. She became cold, she became deadly, and she pulled the trigger. Twice.

Both men fell quickly with a thump on the floor. Seconds later the door was kicked down and the room was filled with SWAT team members.

* * *

One moment changed it all. _One moment_. The gunshots sent everyone in a panic. The Captain knew once those shots went off that they couldn't wait any longer. Now the door was down and the room was filled with police. Damon watched as they led Greta away from the room. The poor woman was completely distraught.

He panicked when they called for a paramedic. He knew Marissa had been shot, but three more shots sounded since they left the security room and prepared to break down the door. He didn't know what he would do if it was Elena who was shot.

Marissa was rushed out of the room on a stretcher. Two more stretchers were brought into the room. _Oh god…_

Damon felt like he was drifting closer to the room. Numbness took over his body as he moved. His eyes glazed over and it was as if he had left his body.

The stretchers reappeared with bloody sheets covering the bodies. _Please no_.

Damon continued to move, ignoring the calls and protest of his family and friends. "Is one of those-" he broke off. He couldn't even say it. "Please tell me that's not-"

"Damon?" his head snapped towards the door of the vault.

"Elena," he whispered. "You're alive." She was shaking and covered in blood. She was pale, too pale, and there were tears streaming down her face. Damon's heart broke at the sight of her, but he also felt a strange sense of relief that she wasn't hurt.

He quickly made his way to her, pulling her in his arms tightly. "I'm so sorry Elena. God I can't express to you how sorry I am." Damon whispered as his hold on her tightened. It was as if he was afraid she would disappear.

Elena continued to shake in his arms. He could feel her tears staining his shirt but he didn't care. He just wished he could calm her down. She should have never been put through this. If only he would have listened to her, but instead he let his stubbornness and his pride get in the way. It was his fault.

"Excuse me? I need to get a statement from Miss. Gilbert," a young, gangly looking police officer said appearing next to them.

"Not now," Damon said sharply.

"But-" the officer began.

"No, no buts. Do you have any idea what she just went through? She can barely breathe let alone answer your questions so no, not now."

The officer was about to say something in reply when Captain Smith intervened. "Steven it's okay. When Miss. Gilbert has calmed down, she can come to the station, we have everything we need right now."

"Yes sir," Steven replied walking away.

"Sorry about that. When she is feeling better, call me at this number," he said handing Damon a card. "We can set up a meeting for the statement."

Damon just nodded and turned his attention back to Elena. He rubbed circles on her back soothingly as the pair just stood there in complete silence. The question on both of their minds was 'what now?'

In the last few hours so much has changed. Things took place that cannot be undone. Elena kept going over the fact that the SWAT team was planning on breaking into the room to save them. If she had waited only a few more minutes, hell maybe even a few more seconds, they would have been saved. She killed them. She didn't wait, she just pulled the trigger.

She did it to save herself and the others in the room, she knew that, but that didn't erase the fact that she had taken two lives.

"Damon," she whispered hoarsely.

"Hmm?" he said as he continued to hold her.

"I want to go to my room. I can't be here," she said.

"Okay. Come on, I'll take you."

The elevator ride was quick. Damon and Elena remained close, never breaking contact. When they finally arrived to Elena's room, she quickly unlocked the door and led them both inside.

"Can I get you anything?" Damon asked as he watched her closely.

"No, I'm just going to take a shower and go to sleep," she mumbled.

"Okay," he said quietly as she walked into the bedroom and shut the door.

Damon remained in the living room, not sure what to do. He didn't want to leave her, not after what she had been through. In the short time that he's known her he had never seen her like this. She always had a flirtatious smile and a fierce attitude. Seeing her like this, so scared and broken, brought up feelings that he had thought were long dead.

He had this possessive nature around her and the thought of anyone harming her drove him crazy. If the men that were holding her hostage weren't already dead, he was sure he would have gone after him.

Damon remained in total silence for a few minutes before he realized that it was too silent. He never heard the shower turn on. In a panic he rushed into her room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, still in her bloodied up clothes, just staring at the bathroom.

"Elena," he said sadly. Slowly, as if she might freak out, he walked towards her. "Come on," he mumbled as he helped her up and led her to the bathroom.

"I was about to-but then I just froze," she mumbled almost incoherently.

"You don't have to do this alone Elena. I'm here, I've got you." Elena stared at him for a moment, examining him, trying to see the truth. Ever since her parents died and her siblings left she's remained closed off. Never again did she want that vulnerability out because she knew that not everyone would stick around once they knew the damage that was buried deep within her.

Now here was this man that she barely knew, but was completely drawn to, holding her, soothing her, and taking care of her. What was she supposed to do?

She was at a loss for word so she did the only thing she could think of. She simply nodded her head and allowed Damon to undress her and lead her into the shower.

He washed her from head to toe, getting all the blood off of her. Another wave of tears hit her as she watched the blood swirl down the drain. Once again Damon wrapped his arms around her, but this time, she was instantly calm in his arms.

"I will always be here to catch you when you fall Elena," he whispered as he continued to hold her.

Nothing else was said as they stood under the spray of water, nothing else needed to be said. Things had happened, things that they could not undo. Things that were bigger than either of them could imagine. It wasn't just the hostage situation that changed everything, it was the realization that hit both of them during and after it.

The realization that their relationship wasn't just a friend's with benefits relationship, not anymore.

* * *

Twitter: KelsieLorraine

Tumblr: ElenaGilbertWarriorQueen**  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Once again thank you so much for the reviews! I do have to warn everyone that this chapter gets dark. **There is reference to self-harm so if that subject offends you, skip the flashback. I cannot stress this enough!**

Also I know that I switch tenses from 2nd to 3rd person several times in this chapter. I did it on purpose.

That being said, are you guys ready to dive into the past of Elena Gilbert? I hope you enjoy.

* * *

_"After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom."_

_-Arthur Golden_

* * *

"_Mommy don't leave me, you promised you wouldn't leave me alone. You have to keep your promise. Mommy please."_

Everyone is different, in mind, body, and soul. Similarities may arise between one person and the other-whether those similarities are looks, interest, personalities- but they are just similarities. Just because two or more people share similarities does not mean they are the same person and that is a good thing. If we live in a world filled with the same person then the world would be a boring place.

Can you imagine a world where everyone was neutral? Where everyone was the same? Wore the same colors, talked the same, worked the same, laughed at the same jokes, ordered the same food, and so much else? There would be no artist expressing their emotions on murals around the cities, there would be no dancers trying day in and day out to make a name for them, there would be no street performers that brighten your day with their cheerful attitudes and their talent. The world would be a very black and white place. It would have no personality.

There are DNA sequences in the human body that gave you the looks you were born with, but your personality comes from you, from you heart and experiences with the world. How you react to stuff depends on your body, your personality, and your experience. For instance, if two people experience a traumatic situation they will each react differently. One may get PTSD and one may not. It depends on how the situation is handled and the events that take place after.

Elena Gilbert and post-traumatic stress disorder have been well acquainted in the past. As a child no older than six she watched both her parents' die-at separate times. These two big events sent her spiraling into a depression that she almost didn't recover from and spent nearly two years completely silent because of. And honestly, the hostage situation wasn't as nearly as scary as seeing your parents in the condition that she saw them in. The images of their bodies, to this day, are still burned into her mind and she still has nightmares of the two worst nights of her life.

* * *

"_Hello sweetheart," Miranda said to her husband as she answered the phone. "How is Katherine?"_

"_Her fever has gone down a bit, but she still throwing up," Grayson said over the phone. Miranda could hear some shuffling in the background as he pulled the soup out of the microwave. "I made her some chicken noodle soup, hopefully she can hold that down."_

"_I'm sure it will pass soon enough. It's been going around the school for a week. Keep Jeremy away from her so he doesn't get sick."_

"_Already on it, he is staying with Jenna tonight. Where are you?"_

"_I just picked Elena up from ballet class; we are driving home right now." _

"_Mommy! I want to tell him!" six year old Elena said excitedly from the back seat._

"_Elena wants to tell you something Gray," Miranda said smiling at her enthusiastic little girl. She handed Elena the phone._

"_Daddy!" She squealed._

"_Hey kiddo, I heard you have something to tell me. What's up?"_

"_I got the role of the Swan Queen daddy. Miss. Lily said I was the best." Elena said happily, bouncing in her seat slightly._

"_Well that's fantastic honey! This calls for celebration honey. When your sister gets better we will go out for ice cream. Sound good to you?"_

"_Yeah!" Elena said happily. "Thanks daddy. I love you."_

"_I love you too kiddo."_

_It takes less than a second for everything to change, less than a second for the world to be ripped from under you. One second for your life to change and the surface beneath you to be ripped away and then it takes years to stop falling. It takes years to finally find a surface to stand on and even then it is unstable._

"_We'll be home soon dear," Miranda said. "I need to pick up some milk and then drop Elena off at your brothers for the night and then I'll be home."_

"_Alright babe. I love you."_

"_I love you too. See you soon."_

"_Mommy will you sing the song?" Elena asked excitedly once she hung up the phone._

"_Sure baby," Miranda smiled. "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket. Never let it fade away," she sang. "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket sa-"_

_People lie. All the time they lie, not just to other people, but to themselves as well. They lie because sometimes the truth can't be handled. _

_Life is like the beautiful lie whereas death is the ugly truth that people can't handle. No matter who it is that is claimed by the angel of death, no matter how close or distant you are to them, the feeling that creeps up on you when you hear those fateful words is always the same._

_The churning stomach, the cold sweat, the pounding heart, the shaking, and the feeling of the world crumbling around you, you begin to feel small, vulnerable. You can't help it because here you are, letting the fact that someone that you love and care for no longer exist. _

_Just like that, they are gone. Their body might still be here, lying on a cold medal slab in the hospital morgue, but they are no longer here. They're just gone. And there was nothing that you could do except stand there and let it settle in you that you will never see their smile, hear their laugh or talk, or hold them again. Losing someone is a shocking and traumatizing event, especially if it is sudden, unexpected, and especially if you just talked to them not two minutes before._

_**Denial**__… you just don't believe it, you refuse to believe it. Everyone else is crazy, everyone that is around you, crying for the loss. They are all idiots because it isn't real. They are crying for nothing._

_**Anger**__… what did you do to deserve this? You were a good person, a loving and caring person, always willing to help out a friend. Its bullshit that it's happening to you because you didn't fucking deserve it._

_**Bargaining**__… it should have been you. You are convinced. You would do anything for more time; you would do anything just to bring the loved one back, even if it meant dying yourself. "Take me instead," you cry._

_**Depression**__… you emotions are on overload and you can't handle it. The only thing you can do is just shut it down. Just quit. You feel disconnected, and you know you should care, but you don't. You can't. No matter what._

_**Acceptance**__…it happened. It's done, it's over, and the pain will always be there with you as a reminder. A daily reminder that there is a whole in the world where that loved on used to be, a hole that can never be filled._

_The last thing Miranda Gilbert saw where her daughter's innocent doe eyes looking back at her. Her eyes shone bright, filled with the happiness of a child. She felt a small sense of peace knowing that her children were happy._

_It was an accident, a painfully tragic accident that was uncontrollable. Fear appeared on Miranda's face as the truck swerved into her lane. It was too late to do anything. The impact was hard, neither of the drivers had their seat belts on. Maybe if they had, they would both be alive. Maybe…_

* * *

_When Elena's eyes opened, she was met with a sight of blood and glass everywhere. She was lying in the backseat of her mother's car, completely alone. She was bleeding and she was scared. _

_One of the first things she saw through the hole in the windshield when she sat up was the driver of the truck that crashed into them. He had flown through his windshield, half his body was in the truck, the other half was sprawled out on the hood of his truck. His eyes were open, but he was dead._

_Tears ran down Elena's cheeks, mixing with the blood on her face as she looked at the man. The sigh was too much for her, her stomach churned and she threw up on the floor of her mother's car._

_She needed to get out of the car; she knew there was a chance of it blowing up. The left side of the car was completely blocked by the railing of the bridge the car was on. The driver's seat door was smashed in making it impossible to open. She tried to open the back seat door that wasn't blocked and let out a frustrated cry when she realized it had the child safety lock on. _

_The only way out was the hole in the windshield. Slowly Elena crawled to the front seat and out of the broken windshield. She was almost out when she slipped. The glass cut into her abdomen causing her to cry out in pain._

_Blood stated to pour out of the cut and the pain was too much. Elena began to feel dizzy from the blood loss and all she wanted was her mother. Every time she was hurt or scared, her mother made her feel better and right now that was the only thing that could make her feel better. Once she was out of the car, she looked around, hoping to see her mother._

"_Mommy?" she cried as she began walking away from the car. "Mommy!" she screamed when she saw her mother's unmoving body on the road._

_Elena didn't think twice, she took off towards her mother, landing on her knees in front of her. "Mommy! Mommy wake up! Please!" She cried shaking Miranda's form. She was covered in blood, there was a giant gash in her head and blood was steadily gushing out._

_Elena's cries got quieter and quieter before stopping all together. Her mother was gone and there was nothing else she could do. She lifted her mother's arms and snuggled into her dead embrace. She clutched her mother's shirt and continued to cry._

_Every minute that passed Elena became dizzier from the blood loss. Her vision became blurry and dark splotches appeared. She had no energy to fight it so instead she closed her eyes and let the darkness take over._

* * *

_When Elena woke up in the hospital she remembered everything, every little detail of the night that her mother was taken away from her so violently. The doctors thought it was remarkable that a child so young can remember everything after experiencing a trauma as horrible as the one she experienced._

_Doctors and nurses swarmed her once her eyes opened for the first time in two weeks. They checked everything, her injuries, her vitals, how well she spoke, her reflexes, and everything else. She cried while the doctors checked her out. She was scared and confused and the only people she wanted with her right now weren't allowed in just yet._

"_She seems to be in good health, her incision sights from surgery are clean, her reflexes are good, and her speech is remarkable. She was pretty lucky," she heard one of the doctors say._

"_Have you allowed the family in yet?" the other doctor replied._

"_I just sent Chris to get them; we wanted to make sure she was okay before they came in. They should be here any minute."_

_After big trauma's, everything changes. Friendships are ruined, relationships are broken up, and the best parent in the world can suddenly become the worst because the grief is too much. So when Grayson didn't show up at the hospital to see his youngest child finally awake, no one was surprise. _

_He wasn't handling his wife's death well at all. He stopped showing up for work, stop coming home, and he always smelled of booze. When he did go home he completely ignored Katherine and Jeremy. He didn't go to the funeral for Miranda, didn't sit by his daughter's bed side. It was as if he barely existed himself._

_At the young age of 12 Katherine was now the parent of the house. She made sure Jeremy and she had supper, made sure he brushed his teeth, took a proper bath, and went to bed on time. She made sure he woke up and went to school after eating a healthy breakfast. When her father was passed out, she would swipe what few dollars he had left in his wallet so she and Jeremy could go to the hospital and see Elena._

_The last two weeks were hardest on her. She was a kid, she should be a kid, and she shouldn't have to raise her siblings. Finally a teacher at school noticed how exhausted she looked. The teacher attempted to contact Grayson, but after having no luck, she contacted the next emergency person on the list._

_John and Isobel showed up at school and promptly pulled both Katherine and Jeremy out. They brought them home, waited as they packed some of their things, and they've been living with them since. In just two short weeks one single trauma destroyed an entire family._

_Katherine didn't hesitate to wrap Elena in her arms as soon as she saw her. Elena was the baby of the family, six years younger than Kat and three years younger than Jeremy. Seeing her wrapped in bandages, wires sticking out of her body, it was nauseating. John, Isobel, and Jenna stood at the foot of the bed watching at Katherine gentle rocked Elena back and forth and Jeremy rub her back gentle._

_Grayson Gilbert, for all intents and purposes, was gone. During the weeks of Elena's recovery he showed his face two, maybe three times, and never really looked at Elena. Out of all three children, Elena looked the most like Miranda and is physically hurt to look at her._

_John and Isobel played substitute parents for the children, visiting Elena at least once a day, making sure Katherine and Jeremy were taken care of. It wasn't the same though. Their mother was dead, their father might as well be. He was spiraling down. The only thing he ever put in his mouth was alcohol and no matter what anyone did, it didn't help._

_Miranda was his high school sweetheart. He loved her with every fiber of his being. She was his other half. His Juliet as he used to tease her. Even if he didn't realize it at the time, the moment she stopped breathing he could feel it. It was as if a part of his soul was ripped away._

_When Elena was finally released from the hospital it was arranged that she would stay with John and Isobel. _

"_I need my teddy," Elena said quietly as they drove towards the house. Katherine kept her arm securely wrapped around Elena while Jeremy kept her tiny hand in his._

"_We can get you a new teddy baby," Isobel said gentle._

"_NO! I need mine!" Elena screamed._

"_Momma got it for her," Katherine explained. "After everything that's happened to her, you could at least stop and get it. Grayson probably isn't even there. It's what? 12 pm? He's probably at the bar."_

"_Katherine! Watch what you say in front of your sister." John snapped._

"_Why? Elena's going to find out the truth soon," Jeremy threw in._

"_This conversation is over!" Isobel declared. "I do not want either one of you to speak about your father like that in front of Elena. She's been through enough. Now, John can you please stop? It will only take a second."_

"_Fine, but if he's there we will turn around and come back later." John stated leaving no room for argument. _

_The Gilbert house was seemingly vacant. No lights were on and no cars were in the driveway. Katherine helped Elena out of the car and held her hand as they headed up the all too familiar walk way to the house that used to be filled with good memories but now stunk with the bitterness of their fallen father._

"_I'll go grab it!" Elena said bounding up the stairs. _

"_Hurry up 'Lena," Kat said as she looked out the house. The once bright, cheerful house was filled with darkness and gloom. The pictures that were once hanging everywhere were now smashed into pieces on the ground. Beer bottles and cans were littered all over the place and the house reeked of stale beer and rotten food._

_Elena knew she should have grabbed the bear and went back to her sister, but something stopped her. With the bear in her hand she quietly walked to her parent's bedroom. The door was cracked open and the lights were off. The little bit of light that was in the room was from the sun outside._

_Elena saw him. She saw him and she knew it was already too late. The bear that she had grown to love so much dropped on the floor as tears filled her eyes._

"_Daddy?" she whispered. He moved slightly but said nothing in return. Slowly Elena crawled into the bed with him, a familiar act she used to do when she had a bad dream. Instead of the comfort she normally felt from her mother and father's embrace, she felt pain and fear._

"'_Lena you shouldn't be here," Grayson said is a raspy voice. He moved a little more and groaned in pain. _

"_You're bleeding daddy," she whispered grabbing his big wrist in her small hands. Blood continued to pour out of the deep wounds._

"_Daddy had an accident baby. I'll be okay." His voice was dead, his face pale. He wouldn't be okay. He knew that, but he couldn't tell his little girl that._

"_Why didn't you come see me very much at the hospital daddy?"_

"_I'm sorry," he said tiredly. "I'm sad over your mommy baby girl."_

"_I'm sad too daddy," Elena whimpered. "We could have been sad together."_

"_I know baby, I'm sorry."_

_Just like she did with her mother, Elena crawled into her father's embrace and held onto him. The blood from his wrist soaked through the back of her shirt as he held her._

"_I love you baby, I just couldn't do it anymore. Always remember that your mother and I love you with everything we had and we will always be with you," he whispered._

"_I know daddy. I love you too daddy…"_

* * *

"_Katherine what is taking so long?" John hissed. Katherine spun around, startled._

"_I-"_

"_Where's Elena?" Isobel asked slightly panicked._

"_She should have been back by now…" Katherine said. John and Isobel rushed up the stairs and into the room Katherine and Elena once shared. She wasn't there and neither was the bear. Katherine turned and looked around the upstairs trying to figure out where she went when she saw it. Her bear was lying on the floor in their parent's room._

"_Katherine?" Isobel called as she spun out of her old room and into her parent's._

"_Oh god…"she cried as she took in the slight. Collective gasps could be heard from the three people behind her._

_John rushed towards the bed and pulled Elena out of his brother's arms. "Call 911 now!" he yelled carrying Elena into the conjoined bathroom. He looked her over, making sure she wasn't hurt._

_The blood that now covered her clothing wasn't hers. It was Grayson's. John choked back a sob as he whipped his brother's blood of his niece. "It's going to be okay Elena. I promise. You should have been watching her," he hissed at Katherine. "As if what she went through with your mother wasn't traumatic enough, now she has to live the rest of her life with this on her shoulders."_

"_I'm sorry I-"_

"_Just shut up. You've done enough," he growled as he picked Elena up off the counter. He brushed passed Katherine, not even sparing a second glance. _

_Grayson was dead. He was pretty much gone by the time Elena found him. A few seconds later and he would have been completely gone. Elena sat in the back of the ambulance with a blanket around her as the police questioned John. _

"_Do you have to do it now?" he asked._

"_Yes sir we need to know everything," the officer explained._

"_Fuck. Alright come on. Elena? Officer Stevens wants to ask you a few questions okay. I'll be right here the whole time." He received no response. Elena didn't even look at him; she just continued to stare at her family home._

_As the officer proceeded to ask questions, Elena proceeded to drift off. She barely heard what he said and didn't respond to any of it. They tried to get her attention but she just continued to stare at the house. _

_After two days of not talking they took Elena to a counselor who proceeded to tell them that the PTSD was so severe that a part of Elena's brain was shutting down. They were told it shouldn't last more than two weeks._

_Elena didn't speak another word for nearly two years. She completely shut down._

* * *

_Maybe if I continue to pretend I'm sleeping whoever is banging on my door will go away_…Elena thought to herself as she buried her head further under her pillow to block out the insistent beating on her front door.

She wasn't up for visitors. She just wanted to be left alone and for the past few days her wishes were granted. The only people who bothered her were the people bringing her food. After the first night of the shooting she all but kicked Damon out of her room and has been locked in here by herself since. She just couldn't deal with anything right.

After what felt like five minutes the banging seemed to stop. Elena let a sigh of relief and focused on going back to sleep. She was half asleep when all of a sudden something heavy landed next to her.

"Ugh what the fuck," Elena hissed.

"Language little sister," a deep, familiar voice said. Elena's head shot up from under her pillows.

"Jeremy?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? My baby sister was just in a life or death hostage situation three days ago. Why didn't you call me?" Jeremy frowned as Elena shrugged.

"I don't know I just needed some time to myself. I'm sorry Jer."

"'Lena," he sighed. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head against his chest and for the first time in three days she relaxed. "I can't even imagine what you're going through and the fact that you are still standing up after everything. You are one of the strongest people I know." He whispered rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm glad you're here Jer. I've missed you."

"It'll be nice if you called me next time," he teased.

"Who did call you?"

"You're boss, Damon is it?" Elena looked up surprised.

"I never told him I had a brother."

"He's a wealthy business owner, I'm sure he has resources. From what I've heard, he has the cops wrapped around his finger. Probably just had them run a check and saw that you had family living here."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that," Elena said seriously.

"Well I personally feel better knowing you have a boss that cares about you. I mean seriously 'Lena when he got ahold of me, he sounded so distraught. He said he had no idea what to do, that you wouldn't answer your phone or your door. Poor soul. He's been sucked into the world of Elena Gilbert,"

"Oh hush," Elena laughed shoving him a bit.

"It's true 'Lena, ever since you were little you've had people fawning over you. Wealthy playboy Damon Salvatore is no different and last I checked, he didn't care about anything, but he cares about you. You've done something to him- and no I do not want details. I don't think I could handle _that_ coming from you." Elena huffed and rolled her eyes. She brushed off what Jeremy said, not wanting to believe it. Damon was a player, he didn't do relationships. She knew that going in. It was just sex…it had to be. She couldn't allow it to be anything other than just sex.

"So how long are you staying?" Elena asked changing the subject quickly. Jeremy picked up on it but decided not to say anything.

"As long as need be to make sure you haven't gone off the deep end," he smiled. Elena just rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you're here Jer. I've missed you," she whispered seriously.

"I'm glad too sis."

* * *

Jeremy spent the majority of the day with Elena. The two watched movies and ate junk food and just laughed and caught up. Being around Jeremy gave Elena a sense of peace and safety, something that she hadn't been able to feel since the hostage situation. For the first time in days she was actually smiling, actually laughing. It felt the good.

She tried to fight the fatigue as much as possible but in the middle of the fifth movie she fell asleep. Carefully, Jeremy tucked his little sister into bed before kissing her forehead and slipping out of the bedroom.

All joking aside when Jeremy saw the news footage about the situation, he immediately felt nauseated. Just thinking about his little sister in danger made him sick to his stomach. She had already been through so much with their parents and she has to deal with so much with Katherine and her problem. He honestly wasn't sure how Elena was even able to get out of bed.

He was scared for her. Katherine continued to down spiral and the further she fell; the harder Elena tried to save her. Katherine was at the end of the rope and Jeremy feared that if she didn't survive, if Elena had to watch someone else she cared about disappear, that she wouldn't survive it.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I originally had it go in a completely different but I wasn't happy with the results so I rewrote the entire thing.

Follow me and my stories on twitter/tumblr

Twitter: KelsieLorraine

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	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! So sorry for the long wait. With finals and everything I took a mini hiatus, but finals are done and I have a few days before summer classes start so I will try and update all of my stories!

I did indeed pass all my finals and am now officially a senior in college! Whoo! Time sure does pass quickly.

I wanted to do something a bit different for this chapter, so I am writing it in Elena's point of view. I really want y'all to really get into her mind and I feel like the things that take place in this chapter will be better shown in her point of view. With that being said, enjoy!

P.S. This story is almost at 100 reviews, the 100th reviewer will get a shout out in my next chapter!

* * *

_"Soon I will fade away into the prevailing mist of love and regret... soon, I will be the gold of the evening sun about the pierce to horizon... soon I will be the flying winds of the long forgotten forest... but before that I will make sure that I be the lavender blush in the sky roofing my beloved ones, before I become the last shades of good bye..."_

_-Kevin Knight_

* * *

Normalcy. What is normalcy exactly? The definition of normalcy is being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning. That seems pretty straight forward, but what does it mean? What does normalcy exactly entail? Is there even a single person on this earth that knows exactly what normalcy involves? Because I sure as hell don't know. Nothing in my life is normal. Years ago there might have been some sort of normalcy, but that disappeared when my mother and father died. Ever since then, normal functioning hasn't been a part of my life.

Of course you wouldn't know it by just looking at me. From just a glance all you see is me, a young, confident girl who knows what she wants and doesn't back away from a fight. I am arrogant, cocky, sexy, confident, I show very little fear, and I know my shit. I know how to get by, how to survive in tense situations. It is like second nature to me.

That is what everyone sees when they look at me and that is what I want them to see. I don't want them to see the real me, the young timid, emotionally traumatized girl carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. The real me is a weakness that I kept buried because of my lack of trust for anyone. Jeremy knows my secret, my childhood best friend Bonnie knows my secret, John and Isobel know my secret, but no one else does. That is how I want to keep it.

Damon insisted that I take a few more days off, to rest and relax. He was treating me like a doll and it was starting to annoy me. All I did, day in and day out, was lounge around my hotel room and now I was going stir crazy. I had to get out before I started pulling my hair out.

I could have left the hotel days ago, to get some fresh air, to take a girls day I guess you could say, but I decided against it. Not because I was afraid, but because I was avoiding. I was avoiding _her_ because I knew what would happen when I saw her. I was being selfish, I knew that. I was avoiding her because I didn't want to be reminded of the burden I carried. Working at the casino has made me start enjoying my life again and I didn't want to lose that feeling. It made me a horrible person, but I couldn't help it. I needed that feeling, I needed to feel happy. It has been so long since I've felt happy.

Ever since the hostage situation I've felt like this hidden burden has been fighting its way through the barriers I've built. I couldn't avoid it any longer. Today was the day, it was time to face her and it was time to face my past.

I woke up early; it wasn't even 8 a.m. yet. I took a long, hot shower. I was in there so long that my skin started to wrinkle. I dressed in simple clothing and comfortable shoes. I didn't want to wear any fancy cloths, not to the place I was going. I needed to seem as normal as possible.

I was finishing up drying my hair when the lobby called and informed me that my taxi was waiting for me. I knew the casino had company cars that I could have taken for free, but they were way to fancy. Driving the car in the part of L.A. that I was about to enter would definitely be a bad idea.

I grabbed a few twenties and slipped them in my pocket. I needed to pick some things up before I showed up at her house, if that is what you could call it. As I headed out of my room I grabbed the bag with several outfits in it.

I was rushing to get to the lobby before the cab driver got annoyed and impatient and drove off. When I opened my door I froze, not expecting to see Damon on the other side, with his hand raised in mid-knock.

"Damon," I breathed.

"Hey," he said quietly. "I didn't know you were going out," he said noticing my bag.

"Yeah, there are some things I need to take care of," I explained, smiling slightly hiding my annoyance. I appreciated his concern, honestly, but I've been taking care of myself for years. I've gotten used to only being able to rely on myself and Damon showing up with his pretty blue eyes filled with concern was taking me by surprise. I tried to distance myself but my resolve was breaking.

"I was just coming to check on you. We haven't really talked much since that night and I've been worried."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just needed some time to myself."

"Where are you going? He asked curiously.

"Just out to run a few errands, maybe stop and get my nails done," I lied.

"Good, that's good. You need to relax," he smiled brightly at me, his entire face lighting up.

I hesitated a moment before I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. He was stunned momentarily before wrapping his arms firmly around my waist. "Thank you for contacting my brother," I whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek.

In return, Damon cupped my cheeks and kissed me lightly on the lips. "You're welcome."

"I have to get going, but I will talk to you later?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off, thinking about something. "Do you want to get dinner tonight? Around 8? If you're done with your errands I mean…" A look of vulnerability flashed on to his face causing me to smile. He looked like a little boy scared of rejection.

"I'd really like that. I will meet you in the lobby at 8," I smiled before shutting my door and kissing him on the lips once more.

Jeremy knows my secret, my childhood best friend Bonnie knows my secret, John and Isobel know my secret, but no one else did. Maybe, one day soon, Damon would know it too.

A part of me hated admitting that, but that part of me was slowly disappearing as the realization of the truth surfaced. I had realized it a few days ago in his absence, but I had yet to admit it to myself. God dammit I am falling for Damon Salvatore and I am falling hard…

* * *

I stopped at a small Stop and Shop on before I got to the house. It wasn't the first time I've stopped here and I knew it wouldn't be the last. Every time I went to see her I stopped here and grabbed the same things. Broth, crackers, sprite, clean underwear and socks to go with the cloths that I grabbed from my closet, shampoo, conditioner, female products, and a few general medicines such as Pepto-Bismol and Ibuprofen.

I quickly grabbed what I needed, knowing exactly where everything was due to the many times I've been here. Once I checked out, I ran back out to the taxi. It was time, time to face what I've been avoiding.

I could tell the second the taxi drove into Compton. It was like an instant environment change. Graffiti littered the walls in every direction, the houses were falling apart, and cars were smashed up. My stomach churned at the amount of missing posters that were scattered everywhere. The sun seemed to dim down a little bit the second I crossed over into Compton. I know that doesn't probably make sense, but it is what it is.

Compton was one of the worst, if not the worst, part of L.A. The crime rate was sky high with damn near 180 homicides alone since 2007. This was part of the reason I didn't let Damon know exactly where I was going. He would have never let me and I don't blame him. Just thinking about this place is dangerous.

As much as I tried to avoid this place and tried to avoid thinking of her I knew I couldn't. I couldn't just abandon her during a time like this; I couldn't and wouldn't turn my back on her. She has a sickness, what kind of person would I be if I just turned my back on her. I tried to convince her to leave, convince her that we could get a place, but she wouldn't. She has always been stubborn but this time I fear that her stubbornness would get her killed.

The taxi stopped at a familiar yellow house. I quickly paid him and grabbed the bags from the store. The house was in worse shape than most the houses in Compton. It was yellow with a brownish tint. It was darker every time I visited. The windows were either cracked to the point that they were unfixable or they were completely gone. Several of the boards on the porch were missing, and for heaven's sake there wasn't even a fucking door. Just a stupid sheet hung up.

I didn't make it a habit of talking to the people that lived here, with her, but from what I could tell; they were the people you didn't mess with. It seemed no one would dare try and break in, no matter how easy it was.

I slipped in quietly. Everyone was home, of course, settled in the living room playing video games on a flat screen television that I am positive was stolen. Who am I kidding; everything in this house was stolen. They didn't acknowledge me and I them. They knew I was here but didn't bother me. I was slightly grateful for that.

The floorboards creaked as I made my way up the stairs. There were beer bottles, cigarette buds, and small plastic bags that used to be filled with weed and pills scattered everywhere. Every time I came here and saw how the number of beer bottles and bags increased, a little part of me that had hope for her died. I knew if I didn't do something, I would lose another person I cared about, but what could I do? Rehab? That is a nice notion, but I had no money. Maybe I could talk to Damon about a raise or a loan or something.

I turned down the familiar hallway and sighed at the sight. There were people passed out all along the hall, some of them looked to be as young as 18. They were all trashed; somewhere completely passed out, while some held on to some of their consciousness.

"Heyyy..." one of them slurred at me. She was a tiny girl, unhealthily skinny and extremely pale. Her hair was bleach blonde and looked like she tried to cut it herself. Her lip was busted and her right eye was black. My stomach churned in disgust. Who could do this to a young girl?

My question was answered when the door she was lying in front of flung open. A gruff looking man with tattoos up and down his arms grabbed the girl's small arm and yanked her up violently.

"Bitch, what the fuck are you doing?" he hissed pulling her into the room. He turned to look at me, smirking slightly before disappearing behind that door. I had to tell myself not to be the hero; I had to keep myself from kicking down that door and knocking the abusive bastard upside the head. What would that accomplish? If I did anything like that, I wouldn't make it out of this house in one piece. Literally.

I finally reached my destination, the last room at the end of the hall. I could hear the bed creaking and moans from within. Great now I have to stand out here and listen to this.

Luckily it didn't take loan before I knew it the creaking stopped and I heard shuffling. After another moment or two the door flew open and Trevor stepped out.

"Well hey! If it isn't the younger one," he said attempting to be seductive and sexy. As if. "You know, you are always welcome to stay for more than a few hours. My room is downstairs," he smirked and I wanted to vomit.

I didn't even bother a responding to him. I brushed past him into the room and shut the door. I could hear his laughter fade away. Fucking douche, I hope he falls down the stairs and breaks both his legs…and his penis.

"'Lena," a familiar husky voice called from the bed. "You're here; I knew you would come back."

Taking a deep breath I plastered on the fakest smile I could and turned towards the figure on the bed. "Hey Kat," I whispered.

* * *

I know it is short and I'm sorry! I wanted to dedicate more than one chapter to Katherine, really dig into the details of her and Elena's relationship! I hope you guys enjoyed, please review!

*Subject Change* Did everyone enjoy the finale? I am so excited Elena chose Damon and that Jeremy is back! Although I am sad that Bonnie is dead. And Kat being human! I love it, I might be in the minority here but it was an awesome twist and it's better than her being dead because I was sure they were going to kill her.

Stefan being a doppelganger is hilarious. The summer hiatus is just beginning and we are already losing it with the Stefan x Silas (Stilas) shipping. It is going to be a long summber, but at least True Blood will be back on soon!

As always thanks for reading and follow my stories and myself on twitter/tumblr:

Twitter: KelsieLorraine

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	7. Chapter 7

I just want to thank you guys so very much for your support and encouraging reviews on this story. I appreciate it more than you could imagine.

The dedication of this chapter goes to **Layla Reyne** who not only reviewed every chapter, but also brought this story up to 100 reviews. She is one of the sweetest people here on fanfiction and she is also a very talented author. If you haven't yet, go read her story The Left Coast, it's amazing and it also recently hit 100 reviews.

To everyone else who constantly reviews, thank you so much. This story would be nothing without you guys. I may not always reply to your reviews, but each and every one of them makes me smile. Thank you guys so much.

P.S. This chapter isn't edited. I got lazy, sorry :P

* * *

_"Let's face it, everyone tries to be strong and act like nothing ever goes bad in their life, but in reality we all struggle and need help once in a while...It's okay to cry, laugh and ask for help because no one is perfect!"_

_-Allison Leigh_

* * *

My heart sunk as I looked at my sister. I didn't think it was possible, but somehow she had managed to loose even more weight since I last saw her. I blinked away the tears; I didn't want her to worry about my being upset. Right now it wasn't about me, it was about her. She needed help.

I set the bags at the foot of the bed and sat down next to her. She smiled up at me but the smile didn't reach her dull, lifeless eyes. My heart ached for her, with her. Gentle I tucked a stray hair behind her ear, not that it helped.

Her face had smudges of dirty everywhere; her hair was nappy and greasy. It was like she had forgotten how to bathe herself. I was half convinced that all she did was just lay in her funk day in and day out.

"I've missed you," she said sullenly. "The guys said you weren't coming back, that you had no reason too."

"Well the guys are idiots. Don't listen to what they say," I said gently. "Come on, you need a bath."

I helped her out of bed and half carried her to the bathroom. She didn't have the strength to walk on her own. I could feel the anger radiating in my bones. The idiots down stairs just left her up here to rot, only going to her when they wanted a fuck.

I wished more than anything that I could do something, that I could save her like she saved me, and god knows I've tried to involve the police over here. As soon as I mentioned the house, they shut me down. Even the fucking police, the people who have sworn to protect the innocents, were too scared to come here. Fucking bastards.

The bathroom was filthy, not that I was expecting it to be anything but. Katherine sat on the edge of the bathtub while I prepared her bath. I could feel her, watching me, and I could see the small smile on her face. She was underweight, doped up on drugs, living in her own filth, and being used as a fucking sex toy, but somehow she still manages to smile.

"I'm really glad you're here 'Lena," she mumbled as she leaned forward to mirror my earlier actions and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Me too," I replied solemnly. It wasn't that I wasn't happy to see my sister, because I was. I just wasn't happy to see her in this condition, slowly withering away.

I remember when we were kids, before my parents died. She was 6 years older than me so we were never in the same school but that never stopped her from going out of her way to walk me to school. We would walk hand in hand, playing I spy and singing silly songs.

One day the fifth grade bully confronted us and pushed me down. Before he could even demand out lunch money, Kat punched him in the nose. He ran away crying with a bloody nose. She got in trouble because of that but she later told me that if she had to do it over, she would punch him in the nose and kick him. She would do it all over again for me.

She used to pretend I was her baby. She would walk around holding me as best as she could, she would sit on the couch with me propped up on her lap with some pillows and feed me, she attempted to change my diaper once, that didn't end well, and she would sing me to sleep. Even at a young age I always knew I was safe with her.

In her mind, I came first. I was the baby, I needed to be protected. That's what my parents told her when my mom was pregnant. She wasn't happy that they were having another baby. She said that Jeremy was enough. She threw a fit, said she would always hate me. She was 6 and she didn't know any better. She thought that every baby they had would cause my parents to forget about her.

For three years she was the only child and she was spoiled. Then Jeremy came along and he took up a lot of attention. Katherine was only a toddler, but she was still jealous of Jeremy. She once told my parents that Jeremy took enough attention away from her and that I would take up the rest. That just made my parent laugh.

It wasn't until my mother had the accident that caused Kat to change from hateful to protective. My mother was walking up the stairs when she was about 7 months pregnant when she slipped and fell. My dad and siblings were out shopping, but thankfully Aunt Jenna was there. My mother was immediately rushed to the hospital. She had done too much damage and they had to take me early in order to do the repair.

I only weighed 2.3 pounds. I was put in the NICU where I had to stay for nearly 3 months to develop my longs and to make sure I was eating properly. My dad told me that the first time they visited with Kat and Jeremy that Kat pressed her face up against the incubator and just stared at me. When they were about to leave she whispered to me that I needed to fight and survive so I could come home and be with them. She said I needed to get better so we could do sister stuff like braid each other's hair and talk about "stinky, cootie filled boys". Her exact words.

When my parents died, Kat became even more protective of me, especially since I stopped speaking. I was teased tremendously. I was called a freak and a retard. Every time I came home with tears in my eyes, Kat took revenge by playing some sort of mean trick on the kid that made me cry. She always had my back, she always protected me. For nearly 3 years after my parent's deaths I couldn't sleep unless she was next to me, holding me.

I know for a fact that if she wasn't there after their deaths, I wouldn't have survived. I owe her everything. I was going to save her from this life. She made a mistake, everyone does, but I refuse to let this wrong turn in her life kill her. I would happily take her place if I could, but since I can't, I will sure as hell fight to save her.

I helped wash every inch of her, from the top of her head, to her toes. I helped dry her before dressing her in some clean sweats. I brushed her hair while she brushed her teeth. Once her hair was dry and her teeth were cleaned I helped her to the bed. I stripped the sheets, tossing them in the corner, before putting the fresh sheets on the bed.

"Why don't you lay down Kat? I'll get the food," I suggested. She simply nodded with a smile before snuggling into the now clean bed.

I set the food out on paper plates on the bed. It was nothing fancy, just some sandwiches,

chips, fruit, and juice. "You hungry?" I asked with another fake smile. I couldn't muster up a real one, not here, not in this situation.

"A little," she said meekly. I knew she was being modest just as I knew she probably hadn't eaten in days. The food I brought was all for her. I didn't plan an eating any of it. I watched as she ate, well as she sucked down the food faster than a vacuum cleaner is more like it.

I felt a sense of self-loathing. My entire family had stubbornness in their genes, but my sister was by far the worst. No one could change her mind. More than once Jer and I tried to convince her to leave and come live with us, that she wouldn't be a burden. She would normally just give us a sad smile and say it was too late. I refused to believe that.

I was stubborn to and I refused to believe that my sister couldn't be saved. She could, I knew it. I could feel it. All I needed was money. I could get her into a rehab clinic; she could be in a safe place with support and as cheesy as it sounds, love. She could heal.

Kat's time was running out. If I was going to get the money, I was going to have to get it fast. I wasn't lucky, no one in my family was, so I fully believed that every day that passes, Kat's situation becomes more and more critical.

I stayed with Kat for hours, completely loosing track of time. I told her about the job at the casino and about Damon. I told her about how we were just friends with benefits but something between us was changing fast. She smiled and held my hand, telling me she was happy for me and that I had met someone and that it would hurt to try a relationship with him, told me that I was just afraid of getting hurt.

She was right. She always seemed to know me better than myself. Even in the worst time of her life, she knew what to tell me to make me feel better. We talked about the past, contemplated the future, and it seemed, for a split moment, that everything was back to normal.

I stayed with her until she fell asleep. Once she was asleep I tucked her in and began to straighten up her room and put up the cloths I brought her in the make shift dressed. Once I was done I called a cab. I kissed Katherine's forehead before slipping out of the room.

"Goodbye Kat, sweet dreams," I whispered before turning of the lights and shutting the door. Every time I visited her, it was emotionally draining. I didn't know how long it would be until I broke down, but it was inevitable.

* * *

It didn't take long to get back to the hotel thankfully. I was running on fumes. I felt like a slug as I made my way up to my room. I felt relief flood my entire body once the elevator doors opened on my floor. The relief left just as quickly as it came once I caught sight of my door.

Damon was sitting down, his head in his hands. Fuck. I forgot about the dinner. I don't even know what time it was but from the looks of his wrinkled tux, he had been there for a few hours.

"Elena," he croaked, quickly getting g up. "Where have you been? I've been so worried. I was about to call the cops and organize a man hunt for you," he explained, wrapping his arms around me. Oh no. I could feel the tear well up in my eyes.

"I lost track of time. Sorry," I mumbled brushing past him. I could let him see me break down. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," I brushed off. I hoped that he would get the message that he would back off. My hope was in vain.

"Wait, what? Elena what the hell? I've been worried sick and you brush me off without so much as an explanation?" he nearly yelled. I could feel his anger start to radiate off of him.

"It's no big deal Damon," I mumbled tiredly as I pulled out my key card and opened my door. "So stop making it into one."

I tried to shut the door but Damon was faster than I was. "It is a big deal Elena! It is almost 1 in the morning. You've been gone since this morning, you never showed for the dinner, and you never answered your phone. So don't tell me that it isn't a big deal, because it is!"

"You are not my boyfriend Damon! You are just a convenient fuck! That doesn't not give you the right to barge in here demanding to tell you where I've been. Maybe I've been with friends; maybe I've been getting laid by someone who isn't afraid I'll break! Either way it is none of your fucking business!" I screamed. I knew it was a low blow, but what else was I supposed to do?

The hurt was evident in Damon's eyes, but his face still showed anger. "Where have you been Elena?" he hissed stalking towards me. "I mean if you were truly at another fuck buddies house, why don't you just bring him here and we can have a three way. Does that sound good to you?" His tone continued to turn deadly as he got closer. "If you are going to act like a whore, I might as well treat you as one!"

Slap.

My hand collided with his face so hard that the sound rang throughout the hotel room. "You don't know a damn thing." I hissed.

"I don't? You just said that maybe you were sleeping with someone else, if that doesn't scream whore, then I don't know what does!" he snapped. I went to slap him again, but he was ready this time. He grabbed my wrist tightly, pulling me closer. "So, how about you be serious with me know, because it is the least I deserve after everything I've done for you. Where were you?"

When I didn't say anything after a moment, he narrowed his eyes. "I've been sitting in front of you door since 8:20, I've called you 34 times and text you 28 times. I've been going out of my mind. Where the fuck were you? I deserve to know!"

I couldn't hold it back, it was too much. Everything was too much. The tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over onto my cheek. A deep, broken sob erupted from my chest and my legs began to give out. My legs gave out and Damon quickly caught me, holding me close as he gently kneeled on the floor holding me.

"Elena," Damon whispered.

"It's too much," I cried. "Too much…"

"What? What is too much?"

"Everything!" I cried. "I can't do this anymore!" the sobs were becoming more powerful, my entire body shook as Damon rocked me, quietly shushing in my ear.

"Do what? Elena you're not making any sense baby," Damon whispered his grip on my tightened.

"I can't watch her destroy herself anymore," I whispered cryptically. I knew he wouldn't understand. He wasn't meant to understand, not yet. Instead of asking more questions, he continued to hold me close and rock me. Everything else just disappeared as he witnessed the most vulnerable side to me.

There was a line that separated being just friends with benefits and being something more. As I continued to break down in his arms, I knew that we had crossed that line and there was no turning back.

* * *

I'm trying to update all of my stories today! Hooray! Next chapter will return to 3rd person. I hope everyone enjoyed this update and got a little more insight in Katherine and Elena's relationship.

My muse needs cookies, but reviews will do

Follow my stories and myself on twitter/tumblr

Twitter: KelsieLorraine

Tumblr: ElenaGilbertWarriorQueen


	8. AN: Please Help

I know! It is just an AN and I am extremely sorry but I needed all my lovely readers help. I have been toying with the idea of a baby for The Monster Within and Russian Roulette, but I am not sure how popular or accepted the idea will be or what story the idea will be more believable so I posted a poll on my profile asking if you want a Delena baby in Russian Roulette, The Monster Within, Both, or Neither.

You can vote up to twice and I would really appreciate it if you guys would take a moment and go vote! This AN will be deleted and the new chapters will be posted when they are finished.

Thank you in advance

KelsieLorraine


	9. Chapter 8

Sorry for the delay guys. I've seem to hit a wall on all of my stories. I have the ideas, it's just writing them that has been kicking my ass lately.

The poll results are up on my profile if anyone wants to take a look. Nothing is set in stone. I should have mentioned that if I decided to do a baby in either of my stories, it wouldn't be for a while. I understand that in this story especially that Damon and Elena have had a rough relationship and are nowhere near ready for a baby. For now I am playing it by ear.

Also, someone reviewed a little while ago that they missed badass Elena in this story. Hopefully by the end of this chapter that will change. Enjoy!

* * *

_"They calling you the savior, so much pressure but you deal with it. The weight of the world on your shoulders but you still lift it."_

* * *

Elena felt a weight draped over stomach when she woke up. Slightly dazed and disoriented, she blinked her eyes opened and winced at the bright light that filled her room. She had a slight throbbing in her head due to the lack of sleep and the hours she spent crying yesterday. _Oh God_, she thought as the memories of yesterday and early this morning flooded her head.

She had hit her breaking point. It wasn't the first time she had hit it and it wouldn't be the last, but the difference between every other time is that Damon was there. She remembered their fight. She had said hurtful things on purpose, things she knew would hurt him. She was trying to push him away, but he never left.

She remembered his arms wrapping around her and holding her, rocking her, as she cried for hours. She remembered him carrying her to bed, helping her change, and then holding her as she fell asleep. His arm was still firmly wrapped around her, protecting her from the angst of the world that was fighting to get to her.

She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing. It was steady, deep, and soothing. Just listening to it was calming her back into a deep sleep that she needed after the emotional roller-coaster she road yesterday. Before sleep completely consumed her, she entwined her fingers with the hand that was resting on her stomach, holding Damon as tightly to her as he held her to him.

* * *

When Elena woke up a few hours later Damon was gone, but she could hear the shower running. He stayed. Something about that made her heart clench. She slipped out of bed and headed into the bathroom, pulling her clothes off on the way.

Damon's face was under the spray of water; his hands were flat against the wall as he let the hot water relax his muscles. Elena slipped in behind him. She was hesitant at first, not sure what kind of terms they were on after the events of last night. After a minute or two, she grabbed the body wash and poured some in her hands before running it up and down his back.

Damon let out a small groan as her small hands ran over his biceps and shoulder, down his back and over the curves of his hips. "Turn around," she whispered raspy.

Elena poured some shampoo in her hand and began to wash his hair. He closed his eyes and relished in the feel of her hands running through his hair. She was taking care of him like he took care of her last night.

She let her hand trail down his chest to his hardened length. She gripped him tightly. He moaned as she began to stroke him. She kissed her way down his chest as she lowered herself to her knees. Without hesitation she took him in her mouth as deep as she could.

He wrapped his hands in her hair and gently guided her. She sucked and licked as he pulsed in her mouth. She cupped his sack in her hand and squeezed him which caused his hands to tighten in her hair and a raspy groan erupt from his throat.

"Elena, you're going to make me come," he hissed quietly.

"I've got you," She replied. "Let go."

"No," he mumbled. "I want to be inside you." Damon didn't wait for her to reply. He pulled her up and pushed her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed into her. "Fuck," he groaned against her neck. "I've missed this."

"Me too," she agreed breathlessly. "So much."

She wrapped her hands around his neck and buried her hands in his hair as he began to thrust evenly in and out of her.

Something had changed between them, they could both feel it. This wasn't just a simple no-strings attached fuck. This was something a lot deeper. The connection they had changed greatly. They both knew there was no turning back after this.

Elena's hands pulled at his hair as her orgasm began to approach. Damon's thrust grew faster and uneven, his grip on her waist tightened. "Don't stop," Elena cried. "Damon, don't stop."

"Never," he promised as he hit the spot inside her that drove her crazy. It was enough to send her into an earth shattering orgasm.

"Ohh!" She cried out. "Damon!" Damon's orgasm hit him just as hard. He continued to thrust as he pumped himself deep inside of Elena.

"Fuck," Damon mumbled as he thrust began to slow.

"Yeah," Elena agreed. Damon lifted his head from her neck and rested his forehead against hers. He lifted his left hand from her waist and wrapped it into her hair. Softly, as soft as a feather almost, he brushed her lips against hers.

"Elena," he mumbled against her lips. His voice was needy and broken.

"I know," she shook her head as the tears began of fall down her cheek, mixing with the now cold shower water. "I know," she said again as she pulled his lips against hers.

* * *

Elena grabbed a pair of jeans and a tank top from her closet and tossed them on her bed. She dried off before slipping the cloths on and returning to the bathroom to dry her hair. Damon had slipped on one of the complimentary robes from the hotel and headed to his room to get some clean clothes. He appeared in the doorway just as Elena finished drying her hair. He was dressed in khaki slacks and a light blue, short sleeved shirt. His hair sat in the same, slight messy style it was in when he wasn't at work.

"Ugh," Elena said teasingly as she rolled her eyes.

"Ugh?" Damon repeated surprised and slightly confused.

"Yeah, your hair is almost completely dry just from a short elevator trip up to your room and back and here I have to spend 5 to 10 minutes trying mine so it doesn't look like an afro. So ugh." Elena's smile was bright and teasing. There was a comfortable tone in the hair between the two.

"You in an afro could be kind of sexy," Damon smirked. He walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her hands rested on his. After a moment of silence, Damon spoke. "Elena, do you want to talk about last night?" his voice was so tender that it sent shivers down her spine.

"Family issues," she said cryptically. "I don't really want to talk about it right now. I just want to be here, with you." She whispered.

"Okay angel," he whispered kissing her neck. "Do you want some lunch? It's late and I don't know about you, but I'm starving.

"Yeah I'm a little hungry. Do you want to order room service?"

"Are you kidding? We eat the food here 24/7. I want to take you out to lunch."

"Where?" Damon just smiled and kissed her neck.

"You'll see when we get there." Elena rolled her eyes and followed Damon out of her room. "Bailey, get the car ready for transport. I am on my way down now." Damon said on the phone.

"You know I hate surprises," Elena mumbled as they made their way to the lobby. Damon just smiled.

The ride to the restaurant was quick and quiet. Elena stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by. Damon watched Elena from the corner of his eyes. He watched as her face light up in excitement as she took in L.A. and he made a mental note to take her sightseeing one day.

"Tender Greens?" Elena turned to face Damon.

"It's one of my favorite restaurants," Damon explained.

"It looks busy. Maybe we should have called in advance?" the door opened and Damon's driver offered his hand to Elena. She smiled at him as she took it.

"Yeah, maybe," Damon agreed as he took Elena's hand and leading her inside.

"Ah Mr. Salvatore," the manager greeted enthusiastically, "Your usual table I presume?"

"You have a table?" Elena laughed. "That's unsurprising." Damon squeezed her hand as they were led to a table in the more secluded part of the restaurant.

"Hello, my name is Shelly and I will be your waitress. Can I start you off with something to drink?" Shelly asked as she pulled out her order pad.

"Just water," Elena replied as she flipped through her menu.

"I'll have the same," Damon nodded.

"Alright, I will be right back with your waters and to take your order," She smiled as she walked away.

"Their salads look amazing," Elena commented. "I think I am going to get the Southern Fried Chicken salad."

"From experience the salads are huge," Damon remarked as he set the menu down.

"Good thing I eat a lot," she smirked. Damon laughed. Shelly set their waters down before pulling out her pad again.

"Are you guys ready to order?"

"Yes, we will have two southern fried chicken salads with ranch," Damon ordered as he handed Shelly the menus.

"Alright they will be right out," she smiled.

"Thank you." Once they were alone Damon turned to Elena and took her hand in his. "I have to confess that there is another reason I asked you to lunch today."

"Oh? A secret agenda?" Elena teased. Damon smiled half-heartedly.

"You could say that. I spent a lot of time thinking in between worrying last night and I decided on something. I don't want to have a friend with benefit's relationship with you anymore." Elena's smile dropped. She tried to pull her hand away but Damon held it tightly in his. "Please listen before you react. I know when we started this relationship, if that is what you could call it, that we agreed to no strings attached, but I can't do this anymore. It became quite clear last night, and the night of the hostage situation, just how much you mean to me. The idea of you being hurt makes me physically sick. All I wanted to do when you were in the safe was hold you and protect you and last night when you showed up, I've never seen you like that before Elena. You looked so lost, so broken. I didn't know what to do so I just followed my instincts. It was easier than what I was expecting. I never thought I would be this close to someone again, so I decided enough was enough. I don't want to have a friend with benefits relationship with you anymore because I want an actual relationship with you. I want you to be my girlfriend Elena." Damon let out a shaky breath as he finished his speech. Slowly, he lifted his eyes from the table.

Elena watched him, frozen in her chair with wide eyes. She was expecting him to say anything but that. She thought he was going to break it off all together, to insist for them to have a work relationship and nothing else. She wasn't expecting him to ask for more. She wasn't expecting him to fight for her.

He had seen her at her lowest point and instead of running for the hills, he stood his ground. He wanted to be with her. She almost couldn't believe it.

Elena stood up, Damon followed her actions. Elena cupped his face and gently brushed her lips against his. "Yes," she mumbled. "I'll be your girlfriend." Damon smiled a big, goofy smile as he pulled Elena close and brushed his lips against her. They broke apart when someone cleared their throat.

Elena blushed and buried her face in Damon's chest as Shelly set their food on their table. "You two enjoy," she said lightly.

"Thanks," Damon nodded as he rubbed Elena's back. Once Shelly was gone, the couple looked at each other and broke out into laughter. For the first time in over a week they were both able to laugh freely without the weight of the world on their shoulders.

* * *

"Hey boss," Klaus greeted Damon as he stepped of the elevator. "I heard Elena was coming back to work tonight, is it true?"

"She said she was. I tried to convince her to wait until Monday so it wouldn't be as busy but she waved me off," he laughed.

"Sounds like her. When will she be here?" Damon smiled and nodded towards the middle of the gaming floor.

"Looks like she beat us here," Damon said as he watched Elena make her rounds in the pit. He could hear her laughter from here. That sound, a sound that he had missed greatly, warmed his heart. As much as he wanted her to wait a few more days, he was immensely proud of her for insisting that it be tonight.

Saturday's were always the busiest. It was only five in the afternoon and the pit was already jammed packed. "I am going to make my rounds. Call me if you need me," Damon said.

"Alright, mate," Klaus nodded.

Damon could feel everything falling back into place. He was ashamed to admit that he had been lacking on his duties as part owner. Several nights in a row he never even left his office. Every person he greeted, he apologized to.

Half way through his rounds Damon's eyes connected with Elena's. They smiled brightly at each other and for a second everything and everyone disappeared. For just a second it was just the two of them.

They were broken out of their semi-trance when Elena's gaze shifted towards the blackjack table. Her eyes zeroed in on the cards that were lying on the floor next to a drunken man's feet. The dealer nodded at Elena confirming that the cards fell from his jacket. He was cheating. He was trying to anyway.

"Excuse me, sir," Elena said politely. "I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave. We don't tolerate cheating here."

"The hell you talkin' about girl? I'm not cheating!" He snapped. The smell of whisky was heavy on his breath.

"Sir, if you don't leave now I am going to call security," Elena pressed. The man stood up violently, knocking his chair over. He turned to look at Elena. Rage was clear as day in his eyes.

"You bitch!" he yelled so loudly that he grabbed the attention of the entire casino. "Call your fucking pigs. I don't care, I'm not leaving."

"Sir, I can tell that you are heavily intoxicated and I also know that I've never seen you in here before, so I am willing to overlook your horrible attempt to cheat and your foul language directed at me. I understand that from your ragged appearance, the stench of whisky on your breath, and your self-destructive behavior that you are probably going through something personal. I get that, which is why I am going to give you one more chance to leave or else I will make you leave," As Elena continued to talk her voice got darker and darker and her eyes narrowed.

"You whore," the man yelled. He balled his hand into a fist and went to swing at Elena, but she was faster. She blocked his swing with her left and swung with her right fist. She hit him square in the jaw and sent him flailing onto the ground.

Damon, Klaus, and the security arrived just moments after the man landed. "Richard, call the police. Tell them he tried to assault one of my employees and that he was a public disruption in my casino," Damon ordered as Richard handcuffed the man.

"Yes, boss," Richard replied. The casino broke out into applause as the carted the man out of the pit.

"Everyone, I am truly sorry for the disruption," Damon stated loudly. "I will personally make sure that 10 chips are added to your final bill." The clapping from the casino customers grew louder after Damon's announcement.

Damon led Elena out of the pit and into his office. Once the door was shut, she was in his arms. "Are you okay?" he whispered against her neck. When the man went to swing at Elena, Damon felt his blood boil. He had never wanted to hurt someone as bad as he did the drunken man that swung at Elena.

Elena pulled back and smiled brightly at Damon. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him gently. "You know," she said curiously. "For the first time in a while, I am."

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed! Please review!

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Twitter: KelsieLorraine

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	10. Chapter 9

I had a question and a request from guests account. The question was is this story set in Los Angeles or Las Vega. The story is set in Los Angeles. The request was to put the poll results in this chapter since they couldn't view them so I've listed the poll results below:

The Monster Within: 16 votes (32 %)

Russian Roulette: 9 votes (18%)

Both: 14 votes (28%)

Neither: 11 votes (22%)

Also, school has just started back for me so that's why my updates have been lacking. It is my senior year so the majority of my time will be spent on my studies, but I will try to update as much as possible. Thank you all for being so supportive and understanding.

* * *

Let me in the wall, you've built around and we can light a match and burn it down. Let me hold your hand and dance 'round and 'round the flame in front of us.

Dust to Dust by the Civil Wars

* * *

Elena woke up to the feel of soft lips leaving a wet trail up and down her neck. She smiled and snuggled closer to the warm body behind her. "Morning," Damon whispered gruffly in her ear, his warm breath tickling her.

"Morning," she replied, sleep in her voice. She rolled around until she was facing him. His arms tightened around her, holding her as close as possible. She rested her forehead against his bare chest and just let the feeling of content consume her.

Every morning for the past two weeks had been like this. They would wake up together and just lay in the quiet, enjoying each other before the rest of the world barged in. Their days would be filled with work, getting to together for a quick lunch and dinner. At the end of the night they would return to Damon's room where they would resume their peaceful bubble away from the world. This was the closest to perfect that Elena Gilbert had gotten in years. The last time she could remember feeling like this was when both her mother and father were alive and her family wasn't broken.

Damon knew about Jeremy, the three of them even managed to get together for lunch a few days since Damon and Elena had made it official. Jeremy, of course, played the role of big brother and threatened to beat Damon within an inch of his life if he ever even thought of hurting Elena in any way, shape, or form. Damon simply laughed and said that he would have to get in line. Elena had only been in Damon's life for a little over two months, but it was true that she had made her way not only in his heart, but to the hearts of the other employees and guests at the casino. If Damon hurt her, not only would Jeremy beat the shit out of him, but so would his own brother, Klaus, Elijah, Matt, et cetera.

Even though their relationship was still fresh, it felt like they had been together for years. They were so comfortable with each other and even though either one of them had yet to divulge into the secrets of their pasts, they trusted each other.

"What are we doing today?" Elena asked, stretching her arms above her head and revealing her naked breast. Damon wasted no time burying his face into her chest. Elena giggled as his breathed tickled her bare skin.

"What do you want to do?" he kissed her breast before looking at her. She gentle ran her hands through his hair.

"Anything or nothing, we can stay in bed all day if you want. I'm off _all _day." She smiled suggestively.

"Hmm, tempting. I have to work for a few hours this afternoon, but I'm off tonight. Actually, I've been putting this off, but my brother has been bugging us about a double date. Klaus too." Elena gave Damon a strange look.

"Stefan and Klaus have been bugging you about a double date?" She asked, not truly believe that the two men would actually be bugging Damon about something that most men claim to hate.

"Well I'm pretty sure they are just patsy's for their girlfriends." Elena nodded in understanding. "I'll talk to Klaus and Stefan at work and I'll call you to let you know the plans."

"Okay," Elena smiled. "How long until you have to be at work?" Damon grinned, knowing where she was going with this.

"An hour," he replied as he rolled on top of her.

"Perfect," she mumbled before kissing him.

* * *

Elena had just finished drying her hair when Damon appeared in the mirror. His custom tailored suit perfectly fitted to his body. His disheveled hair still slightly wet from the joint shower the two of them just took. His bright blue eyes sparkled with happiness. Everything felt so normal and carefree.

Elena smiled at him through the mirror before turning to face him. "I'll see you in a little while," Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "I'll make sure to bring some good alcohol from the bar to help us survive the couple's night," he whispered before kissing her ear.

"Mmm," she moaned as he kissed up and down her neck. "Will you call me and let me know what the official plans are so I can dress appropriately?"

"I would rather you wear nothing, but yeah I'll call you," he flashed her his signature smirk before pecking her on the lips.

"Do you mind if I take one of the hotel cars?" Elena asked.

"Sure, I'll call down to the front desk and have them bring it around. Why do you need it?" the question was innocent, but Elena still hesitated for a moment.

"I just need to run some errands." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay," Damon smiled as he pulled out his cellphone.

Once Damon was gone, Elena finished getting dressed before heading down to the lobby. As promised the car was waiting for her. The doorman handed her the keys as soon as she stepped outside.

"Here you are Miss. Gilbert," he said politely.

"Thank you Dante," she smiled. Elena slipped into the driver's seat and set off towards her destination with a clear mind. She knew eventually that she would have to tell Damon, it was too big of a secret to keep quiet and it nearly destroyed her every time she indulged in it.

The familiar rundown house appeared quicker than she thought. Compton was a dangerous place. Every time she drove in she risked not coming out, but she knew that if she didn't make her presence known that she would risk losing another person she loved and she honestly wasn't sure she could handle that.

Usually she would take a cab, knowing that if she drove to this house and left the car alone for a few hours that it wouldn't be there when she got back. The only reason she was driving today was because she was beginning her rescue mission. No more waiting, no more planning. If she didn't do something soon then her sister would die. That was a guarantee.

Elena didn't bother even looking at the people sitting in the smoke filled living room when she walked into the house. She headed up stairs to the bedroom she knew her sister would be in. Katherine was in the bathroom trying, and failing, to button up a stained white shit.

"'Lena," she smiled. Her teeth had a yellow tint from the lack of proper treatment they received. Her greasy hair was thrown in a messy bun. Elena watched as Katherine's boney hands shook as she tried to button her shirt up. "I'm having one of those days," she laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was shaky and forced. It had only been two and a half weeks since Elena had last seen her sister, but from Katherine's appearance, you would have thought it had been months. Elena's stomach churned.

"Kat-" Elena sighed. Katherine's watery; blood shot eyes connected with Elena's clear browns ones. The evidence of her drug use was unmistakable. Elena stepped closer to her older sister and helped her button her shirt the rest of the way. "Come on," Elena's voice sounded strange, almost recognizable.

"Where are we going?" Katherine smiled an innocent smile. For a second Elena thought back to when they were kids. Katherine's life was fading fast, but she still had the same sweet, innocent smile she used to flash to ever person passing when they were kids, before their parents died and they lost all reason to smile.

"Out to eat. Jeremy is meeting us," Elena explained as the two headed out of the bathroom.

"Oh Jeremy is coming! I've missed him," Kat said happily.

"He missed you too," Elena nodded as she unlocked the doors of the car. "I thought it would be nice if we all had breakfast together. It's been awhile since we've done this."

The ride out of Compton and to the dinner was quick and quiet. Katherine watched in fascination at the scenery as it flew bye. There was a small ounce of light in her hazy eyes. Any onlooker would assume it was her first time seeing L.A. which in a way it was. Katherine had been using drugs for so long that she probably didn't even remember what city or state she was living in.

Elena pulled into the parking lot of a small, hole in the wall dinner. Jeremy stood in front of the entrance waiting for them.

"Jer!" Katherine said happily as the siblings embraced. "I've missed you!"

"I've miss you too," he said sincerely before hugging Elena. The three made their way into the dinner where they were immediately seated.

"Hi guys! I'm Christa and I will be your waitress. Can I start you off with something to drink?" A bubbly, blonde waitress said enthusiastically.

"I'll have an orange juice," Elena said as she idly flipped through the menu.

"I'll have the same," Jeremy added.

"Me too." Katherine smiled.

Jeremy and Elena shared a look. It was hard to see Katherine like this, so happy, yet miserable at the same time. She was surrounded by the only remaining family that she cared about, but things weren't black and white. Every day she lost a little bit of weight. Every day her future faded a little bit more. Every day that passed without her getting help for her addiction was another day of her life gone.

The waitress returned with their orange juice and then quickly took their orders. They ate in complete silence except for the small tune that Katherine was humming. Once they were finished, Elena turned towards her older a sister. She looked closely at the girl that was once her protector.

"Katherine there is a reason why we wanted to get together. Jeremy and I need to talk to you," Elena said hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Katherine's eye brown knitted in confusion at Elena's sudden change in demeanor.

"Kat," Jeremy said. Katherine's head snapped towards him. "You need help. This drug addiction is killing you."

"Is this an intervention?" Katherine scoffed, suddenly angry at her younger siblings.

"Katherine, I saw you two weeks ago. I had to help bathe you because you hadn't bathed in god knows how long. Two weeks isn't that long and yet you look 10 pounds lighter. You live in a house filled with drug dealers whom you fuck for a couple of lines of coke."

"You don't know anything!" Katherine snapped.

"I know that I can't handle watching _another_ family member die. I watched mom die, I watched dad die, and now, unless something is done, I will end up watching you die. I love you Katherine and I can't lose you. Please."

"Elena's right, Katherine. This lifestyle isn't healthy and it isn't what mom and dad would have wanted." Jeremy tried to take Katherine's hand to comfort her, but she jerked it away from him.

"Well it's a good thing they are dead and can't see what a fuck up I am," Katherine snapped. "And it's not like John and Isobel give a shit. They all care about sweet, delicate Elena." Katherine glared at Jeremy and Elena. "I thought this was about being together as a family, but your guys just want to judge me and throw me in some rehab. No thank you." Katherine stood up.

"Katherine please-" Elena began.

"Save it Elena. If it is such a problem to come see me, then don't come by anymore. I'm done with both of you." Katherine hissed before storming out of the dinner. Elena sighed and put her face in her hands.

"We just need to give her some time," Jeremy said comfortingly. "We will get through to her 'Lena."

"I hope so Jer," Elena slumped back in defeat. "I really do."

* * *

"What are the rules?" Elena asked, referring to the rules that Klaus's girlfriend, Caroline, was setting up for.

"Basically one team draws a question at random. Together they decide which team to ask the question. If one or both of the teammates have done what the card is asking they have to take a shot. If you lie and either of the opposing teams successfully call you out on it, you have to take two shots. First team to down 10 shots loses," the bubbly blonde explained enthusiastically as she set several shot glasses and a bottle of tequila down.

Stefan and his girlfriend, Rebekah, sat on the love seat. Elena and Damon sat on the couch and Caroline plopped down on Klaus's lap in the recliner. One the coffee table was six shot glasses, a full bottle of Dona Carlota Reposado, a bowl of popcorn and chips, and a stack of covered cards.

"We'll go first!" Caroline clapped.

"Of course," Rebekah snorted. Caroline flipped her off with one had as she reached for the card with the other. She showed the card to Klaus who chuckled and whispered something in her ear. "Alright, since you are the newest members to date night, Damon and Elena, you get the honors of answering the first question!"

"I already hate date night," Damon mumbled loud enough for only Elena to hear. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"The question is, have you ever had sex on a school bus?"

"Please tell me these cards are filled with sex questions," Damon groaned.

"Not every card," Caroline shrugged. "Answer the question."

"No, those things are filthy. I've always preferred to have sex in my car," Damon smirked.

"Was that a hint?" Elena teased. "And no. I walked to school. Never took the bus." Elena smiled sweetly.

Elena grabbed a card off of the top of the desk. She showed it to Damon and the two of them smiled. "Okay, Stefan and Rebekah, have you ever skinny dipped in the hotel pool?"

"No." Stefan said immediately. Rebekah blushed but shook her head no.

"I call bullshit," Elena said triumphantly.

"Stefan," Damon faux gasped. "How unprofessional of you." Stefan narrowed his eyes and flipped him the bird.

"Elena called bullshit! Stefan, Rebekah, drink up!" Caroline clapped happily.

"Cheers," Stefan said to Rebekah. They tapped their shot glasses together and downed the shot quickly.

The rest of the night went on like this. Elena was surprised to find herself laughing and having a genuinely good time. After the morning she had, she didn't think it was possible. By the time Caroline, Klaus, Rebekah, and Stefan stumbled out of Damon and Elena's apartment, it was close to 3 a.m.

"Next time date night is being held in one of their rooms," Damon slurred as he took in the mess that was left behind.

"Come on!" Elena whined as she pulled on Damon's sleeve. "We can clean up tomorrow! I want to go to bed."

"'Lena I can't sleep with this stuff in my living room!" Damon complained as he grabbed the now empty bowels and brought them to the kitchen. Elena followed him closely.

"Yes you can," she mumbled. Damon dropped the bowels in the sink and turned to get the rest of the dishes from the living room. Elena was closer than he thought and he ended up bumping into her. She lost her balance and fell onto the kitchen floor, but not before grabbing Damon's shirt and taking him with her.

Damon laughed as he looked down at Elena. His breath fanned across her face, the smell of tequila was extremely strong. "Have you ever had sex on the kitchen floor?" Elena whispered.

"No," Damon replied. His eyes were dilated and filled with lust.

"Now's as good as time as any," Elena managed to get out before Damon crashed his lips to hers. The kiss was sloppy, headed, and passionate. Damon didn't waist anytime. He slipped his hands under her shirt and gripped her breast tightly, causing her to moan and thrust against his prominent erection.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Damon whispered gruffly into the nape of Elena's neck.

"I can take a guess," she laughed.

Before either of them could continue, there was a loud knock at the door. "Fuck," Damon growled. He stood up and pulled Elena up with him. "Who the fuck is knocking on my door at 3 in the goddamn morning!"

Elena grabbed his arm, stopping him from going to open the door. "I'll answer it. You have a very noticeable problem in your pants," she said as she gestured towards his erection.

"Okay, but get rid of them. I don't care who the fuck it is. Then meet me in the bedroom so we can finish what we started," he winked before disappearing around the corner.

Elena straightened her cloths and headed towards the door. She looked through the peephole, but all she could see was blonde hair. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, coming face to face with a woman's back.

"Um, can I help you?" Elena asked. The woman turned quickly and looked Elena up and down. Disgust was evident on her face as she eyed the brunette.

"Yes," she said briskly. "I am looking for Damon Salvatore."

"Right, and you are?"

"I'm Dawn Salvatore. I'm his wife."

* * *

Alright here it is! Again I am incredibly sorry for the delay and hope you all remain patient with me. I hope you enjoyed this! Please review (:

p.s. this is an unedited chapter.

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